Synthesis and Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of Cationic Amphiphiles Based on Bivalent Diethylenetriamine Derivatives

The values of the hydrophilic(lipophilic balance (HLB) of various amino-acid derivatives of diethylenetriamine were calculated. Compounds with HLB indices within the range of manifestation of potential antimicrobial activity were selected from the library. Cationic amphiphiles containing fragments of aromatic (L-Phe, L-Trp) and aliphatic amino acids (gamma-aminobutyric acid, GABA) were synthesized. The antibacterial activity was preliminarily studied on Gram-positive B. subtilis 534 and Gram-negative E. coli M17 bacteria by the serial microdilution method. The most active compound had an aliphatic GABA amino-acid residue and an elongated diethylenetriamine derivative with a C12 alkyl chain.