Synergistic interactions of ionic liquids and antimicrobials improve drug efficacy
Daniel D. Yang, Nicholas J. Paterna, Alexandria S. Senetra, Kaitlyn R. Casey, Phillip D. Trieu, Gregory A. Caputo, Timothy D. Vaden, Benjamin R. Carone
Abstract
The effects of these treatments in a human cell culture model indicate the cytotoxic limits of ILs paired with antimicrobials. The analysis of these ILs demonstrates that the length of the alkyl chain on the IL molecule is proportional to both antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity. Moreover, the ILs which exhibit synergy with small-molecule antibiotics appear to be acting in a membrane permeabilizing manner. Collectively, results from these experiments demonstrate an increase in antimicrobial efficacy with specific IL + antimicrobial combinations on microbial cultures while maintaining low cytotoxicity in a mammalian cell culture model.