Catalysis

Boronic acid

Nanoparticle

Bacteria

Biology

Materials science

Phenylboronic acid

Antibacterial activity

Genetics

Combinatorial chemistry

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Amine gas treating

Colloidal gold

Thiol

Chemistry

Nano Letters

With the widespread use of antibiotics, the number of complex infection cases caused by unknown pathogens is increasing and novel antibiotics with tunable antibacterial spectra and low toxicity are highly desirable. Herein, we report that, by selecting thiol or amine, two groups with different binding affinities with gold, as anchoring groups, phenylboronic acid can be decorated on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with different densities, which contributes to Gram-selective antibacterial activities of the AuNPs. The AuNPs modified with amine- or thiol-tethered phenylboronic acids specifically bind to lipopolysaccharide (LPS, Gram-negative) or lipoteichoic acid (LTA, Gram-positive), respectively. By modifying AuNPs with different ratios of thiol- and amine-tethered phenylboronic acids, the resulting AuNPs show potent and tunable antibacterial activity. The AuNP-based antibacterial agents with optional Gram selectivity are promising for applications in personalized therapy.

The Density of Surface Coating Can Contribute to Different Antibacterial Activities of Gold Nanoparticles