ArticleScientific reports2016
The antimicrobial polymer PHMB enters cells and selectively condenses bacterial chromosomes.
Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers.
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Who cites it
86 citing papers in PubMed, 248 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploratory Evaluation of Susceptibility Patterns of Clinical Isolates ofAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Beyond Antibiotics: The Role of Antimicrobial Polymers in Modern Therapeutics.Pharmaceutics · 2026Review
- When Disinfection Fails: Biocide Tolerance as a Driver ofAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- A PHMB-Functionalized Fully Absorbable Synthetic Matrix as a Novel Alternative to Biologics: Balancing Antibacterial Efficacy, Tissue Repair, and Safety.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Wound Healing Property of a Novel Thermo-Reversible Wound Gel With Lasting Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity.International wound journal · 2026Article
- Alkyl Chain Length Governs Structure, Conformation and Antimicrobial Activity in Poly(alkylene biguanide).Polymers · 2026Article
- Molecular mechanisms of disinfectant resistance inJAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Article
- Polyhexanide, Povidone-Iodine, and Hypochlorous Acid Show High In Vitro Antimicrobial Efficacy Against Pathogens Commonly Associated With Equine Infectious Keratitis.Veterinary ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Poly(imidazolium ester) antibiotic forms intracellular polymer-nucleic acid biomolecular condensates and fight drug-resistant bacteria.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Purified Native Collagen Extracellular Matrix Plus Polyhexamethylene Biguanide Functions as a Barrier to Protect Complex Wounds in an In Vivo Model.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- A review of advancements in antiseptics for wound care in diabetic and non-diabetic patients.Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders · 2025Review
- Polyhexamethylene Biguanide Nanoparticles Inhibit Biofilm Formation by Mastitis-CausingVeterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Insulin/PHMB-grafted sodium alginate hydrogels improve infected wound healing by antibacterial-prompted macrophage inflammatory regulation.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2025Article
- Comparison of the in vitro antibiofilm activities of otic cleansers against canine otitis externa pathogens.Veterinary dermatology · 2025Article
- Efficacy of 0.2% povidone-iodine and 0.1% polyhexamethylene biguanide as preoperative antiseptics in equine ophthalmic procedures.Veterinary ophthalmology · 2025Article
- On-demand imidazolidinyl urea-based tissue-like, self-healable, and antibacterial hydrogels for infectious wound care.Bioactive materials · 2025Article
- The dltC gene contributes to polyhexamethylene biguanide resistance inFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Synergistic Polymer Coatings with Antibacterial and Antiviral Properties for Healthcare Applications.ACS omega · 2024Article
- Management of Pediatric Superficial Partial-Thickness Burns with Polyhexamethylene Biguanide: Outcomes and Influencing Factors.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Polyhexamethylene Biguanide Reduces High-Risk Human Papilloma Virus Viral Load in Cervical Cell Samples Derived from ThinPrep Pap Test.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
To combat infection and antimicrobial resistance, it is helpful to elucidate drug mechanism(s) of action. Here we examined how the widely used antimicrobial polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) kills bacteria selectively over host cells. Contrary to the accepted model of microbial membrane disruption by PHMB, we observed cell entry into a range of bacterial species, and treated bacteria displayed cell division arrest and chromosome condensation, suggesting DNA binding as an alternative antimicrobial mechanism. A DNA-level mechanism was confirmed by observations that PHMB formed nanoparticles when mixed with isolated bacterial chromosomal DNA and its effects on growth were suppressed by pairwise combination with the DNA binding ligand Hoechst 33258. PHMB also entered mammalian cells, but was trapped within endosomes and excluded from nuclei. Therefore, PHMB displays differential access to bacterial and mammalian cellular DNA and selectively binds and condenses bacterial chromosomes. Because acquired resistance to PHMB has not been reported, selective chromosome condensation provides an unanticipated paradigm for antimicrobial action that may not succumb to resistance.
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