Polymeric coatings that inactivate both influenza virus and pathogenic bacteria

doi:10.1073/pnas.0608803103

Polymeric coatings that inactivate both influenza virus and pathogenic bacteria

Departments of *Chemistry
^†Biology, and
^§Biological Engineering, and
^‡Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139

Contributed by Alexander M. Klibanov, October 4, 2006 (received for review October 3, 2006)

Abstract

Painting a glass slide with branched or linear N,N-dodecyl methyl-polyethylenimines (PEIs) and certain other hydrophobic PEI derivatives enables it to kill influenza virus with essentially a 100% efficiency (at least a 4-log reduction in the viral titer) within minutes, as well as the airborne human pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. For most of the coating polyions, this virucidal action is shown to be on contact, i.e., solely by the polymeric chains anchored to the slide surface; for others, a contribution of the polyion leaching from the painted surface cannot be ruled out. A relationship between the structure of the derivatized PEI and the resultant virucidal activity of the painted surface has been elucidated.

Footnotes

^¶To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: klibanov{at}mit.edu
Author contributions: J.H., J.C., and A.M.K. designed research; J.H. and D.A. performed research; J.H., D.A., and L.Á .d.C. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; J.H., D.A.,L.Á .d.C., J.C., and A.M.K. analyzed data; and J.H. and A.M.K. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Abbreviations:

PEI,

polyethylenimine;

r.t.,

room temperature;

MDCK,

Madin–Darby canine kidney.