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Antimicrobial Activity and Mechanism of Functionalized Quantum Dots
- Source :
- Polymers, Polymers, Vol 11, Iss 10, p 1670 (2019)
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- MDPI AG, 2019.
-
Abstract
- An essential characteristic of quantum dots (QDs) is their antimicrobial activity. Compared with conventional antibiotics, QDs not only possess photoluminescence properties for imaging and photodynamic therapy but also have high structural stability. To enhance their antimicrobial efficiency, QDs usually are functionalized by polymers, including poly(ethylene glycol), polyethyleneimine, and poly-l-lysine. Also, QDs conjugated with polymers, such as poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and polyvinylidene fluoride, are prepared as antimicrobial membranes. The main antimicrobial mechanisms of QDs are associated with inducing free radicals, disrupting cell walls/membranes, and arresting gene expression. The different mechanisms from traditional antibiotics allow QDs to play antimicrobial roles in multi-drug-resistant bacteria and fungi. Since the toxicity of the QDs on animal cells is relatively low, they have broad application in antimicrobial research as an effective alternative of traditional antibiotics.
- Subjects :
- chemistry.chemical_classification
Polymers and Plastics
medicine.drug_class
Antibiotics
technology, industry, and agriculture
quantum dots
Review
General Chemistry
Polymer
Conjugated system
reactive oxygen species (ROS)
equipment and supplies
Antimicrobial
Combinatorial chemistry
Polyvinylidene fluoride
lcsh:QD241-441
chemistry.chemical_compound
Membrane
lcsh:Organic chemistry
chemistry
Quantum dot
antimicrobial efficiency
multi-drug resistance
medicine
Ethylene glycol
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 20734360
- Volume :
- 11
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Polymers
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....7cf480a9a42771a12ab3b7f60de92e79