Skin irritation testing of antimicrobial conjugated electrolytes
Abstract
Each year, the United States spends about $20 billion to treat people who have been infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria. Even so, the development of new antibiotics has slowed considerably since the mid-20th century. As a result, researchers are looking into developing synthetic compounds and materials with antimicrobial activities such as those made by the Schanze and Whitten groups [ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 3, 2820 (2011)]. Previously, they have demonstrated that poly(phenylene ethynylene) (PPE) based electrolytes and oligomeric end-only phenylene ethynylene (EO-OPE) based electrolytes possess strong biocidal activity. However, before the PPE and OPE can be used with humans, skin irritation tests are required to ensure their safety. In this work, in vitro skin assays are used to predict in vivo irritation. Tissues were conditioned for 24 h, exposed to test substances for 1 h, and then tested for viability using colorimetric and cytokine assays. Concentrations up to 50 μg/ml were tested. Viability assays and cytokine (IL-1α) assays demonstrated that the two polymers, three symmetric oligomers, and three “end only” oligomers were nonirritants. In addition, electrospun mats consisting of several promising compounds, including poly(caprolactone), were evaluated. Therefore, all test substances are conservatively classified as nonirritants after a 1 h exposure time period.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Apr 20, 2017
- Source ID
- 10.1116/1.4979918
Entities
People
- David G. Whitten
- Heather E. Canavan
- Kristin N. Wilde
- Phuong A. H. Nguyen
Organizations
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- Division of Graduate Education
- Division of Materials Research
- University of New Mexico