| Summary: | Infectious microbial diseases are a major public health hazard, calling for more innovative antimicrobials. Herein, polylactic acid (PLA) oligomers have been explored and reported as a bio-safe and eco-friendly functional antimicrobial agent against pathogens, such as viruses (H1N1, H3N2, and SARS-CoV-2), bacteria (<i>E. coli</i>, <i>S. aureus</i>, <i>K. pneumoniae</i>, MRSA), and fungi (<i>C. albicans</i>). The PLA oligomers were prepared by direct catalyst-free condensation polymerization of <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-lactic acid monomers and characterized by FT-IR and <sup>1</sup>H-NMR. The antiviral results demonstrate that PLA oligomers possess robust (inhibiting rate > 99%) and rapid (<20 min) antiviral activity against two pandemic ssRNA viruses, including influenza A virus (IAV) and coronavirus (CoV). Furthermore, the PLA oligomers exhibit high antibacterial activities against both Gram negative (G<sup>−</sup>) and Gram positive (G<sup>+</sup>) bacteria. The PLA oligomers also perform efficiently in killing a large amount of <i>C. albicans</i> as high as 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/mL down to zero at the concentration of 10 mg/mL. Thus, the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity endowed the PLA oligomers with a promising biocidal option, except antibiotics in a wide range of applications, such as medical textiles, food preservation, water disinfection, and personal hygiene, in light of their unique biodegradability and biocompatibility.
|
|---|