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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Production and Testing of Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Mimics
Published on: April 10, 2026
[Preparation and antibacterial activity of quaternary ammonium salt monomers]
Yu-Hong Xiao1, Ji-Hua Chen, Ming Fang
1Department of Prosthodontics, College of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Objective:
To prepare three quaternary ammonium salt (QAS) monomers, and to compare their antibacterial activities against four oral bacterial strains.
Methods:
Three antibacterial monomers [methacryloxyethyl benzyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DMAE-BC), methacryloxyethyl m-chloro benzyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DMAE-m-CBC), methacryloxyethyl cetyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DMAE-CB)] were synthesized according to the general structure of target monomers. Their antibacterial effects were investigated using the broth dilution test on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains (Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella melaninogenica ).
Results:
Three different monomers were successfully obtained. All the tested bacterial strains were susceptible to the three monomers, among which DMAE-CB exhibited the lowest minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 1.2 to 4.8 mg/L.
Conclusions:
All these three QAS monomers have different antibacterial activities against four oral bacteria strains. The data indicate that DMAE-CB may be a candidate antibacterial agent for oral infectious diseases.
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