{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T11:35:32Z","timestamp":1778672132823,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,2]],"date-time":"2022-05-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1651449600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea, Korean government (MSIT)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2021R1A2C2003685"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021R1A2C2003685"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea, Korean government (MSIT)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["20208401010080"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20208401010080"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), Korea government (MOTIE)","award":["2021R1A2C2003685"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021R1A2C2003685"]}]},{"name":"Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), Korea government (MOTIE)","award":["20208401010080"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20208401010080"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Translocation of cell-penetrating peptides is promoted by incorporated arginine or other guanidinium groups. However, relatively little research has considered the role of these functional groups on antimicrobial peptide activity. A series of cationic linear-, star- and multi-branched-poly(L-arginine-co-L-phenylalanine) have been synthesized via the ring-opening copolymerizations of corresponding N-carboxyanhydride monomers followed by further modifications using the N-heterocyclic carbene organocatalyst. All the polymers are characterized by the random coiled microstructure. Antibacterial efficacy, tested by the gram-positive B. subtilis bacteria and the gram-negative E. coli bacteria, was sensitive to the structure and relative composition of the copolymer and increased in the order of linear- &lt; star- &lt; multi-branched structure. The multi-branched-p[(L-arginine)23-co-(L-phenylalanine)7]8 polymer showed the best antibacterial property with the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration values of 48 \u03bcg mL\u22121 for E. coli and 32 \u03bcg mL\u22121 for B. subtilis. The efficacy was prominent for B. subtilis due to the anionic nature of its membrane. All of the resultant arginine moiety-containing polypeptides showed excellent blood compatibility. The antibiotic effect of the copolymers with arginine moieties was retained even in the environment bearing Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+ ions similar to blood plasma. The cationic arginine-bearing copolypeptides were also effective for the sterilization of naturally occurring sources of water such as lakes, seas, rain, and sewage, showing a promising range of applicability.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym14091868","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,3]],"date-time":"2022-05-03T08:26:35Z","timestamp":1651566395000},"page":"1868","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Synthetic Polypeptides with Cationic Arginine Moieties Showing High Antimicrobial Activity in Similar Mineral Environments to Blood Plasma"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Kuen Hee","family":"Eom","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busandaehag-ro 63-2, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shuwei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busandaehag-ro 63-2, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Eun Gyeong","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busandaehag-ro 63-2, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jae Ho","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busandaehak-ro, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan-si 50612, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0103-7457","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jung Rae","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busandaehag-ro 63-2, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8047-7543","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Il","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busandaehag-ro 63-2, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"416","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cmi.2015.12.002","article-title":"The negative impact of antibiotic resistance","volume":"22","author":"Friedman","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin. 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