Synthesis and antibacterial activity of pyridinium-tailored aromatic amphiphiles

Abstract

In this Letter, the antibacterial activities of pyridinium-tailored aromatic amphiphiles were evaluated by turbidimeter tests in vitro. The bioassays revealed that most of the target compounds exhibit appreciable inhibition activities against the plant pathogenic bacteria Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, Ralstonia solanacearum, and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri. The half-maximal effective concentrations (EC50) of 2-NP-10, 9-AP-10, and 9-AP-7 against these three bacteria were relatively high, which may be ascribed to the favourable hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity balance in these compounds. Our results suggest that pyridinium-tailored aromatic amphiphiles are promising bactericide candidates against plant bacterial diseases.

Keywords: Amphiphile; Anthracene; Antibacterial; Pyridinium; Synthesis.