Polycationic Synergistic Antibacterial Agents with Multiple Functional Components for Efficient Anti‐Infective Therapy

Abstract Multifunctional antibacterial photodynamic therapy is a promising method to combat regular and multidrug‐resistant bacteria. In this work, eosin Y (EY)‐based antibacterial polycations (EY‐QEGEDR, R = CH 3 or C 6 H 13 ) with versatile types of functional components including quaternary ammonium, photosensitizer, primary amine, and hydroxyl species are readily synthesized based on simple ring‐opening reactions. In the presence of light irradiation, such antibacterial polymers exhibit high antibacterial efficiency against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus . In particular, EY‐QEGEDR elicits a remarkable synergistic antibacterial activity owing to the combined photodynamic and quaternary ammonium antibacterial effects. Due to its rich primary amine groups, EY‐QEGEDR also can be readily coated on different substrates, such as glass slides and nonwoven fabrics via an adhesive layer of polydopamine. The resultant surface coating of EY‐QEGEDCH 3 ( s ‐EY‐QEGEDCH 3 ) produces excellent in vitro antibacterial efficacy. The plentiful hydroxyl groups impart s ‐EY‐QEGEDCH 3 with potential antifouling capability against dead bacteria. The antibacterial polymer coatings also demonstrate low cytotoxicity and good hemocompatibility. More importantly, s ‐EY‐QEGEDCH 3 significantly enhances in vivo therapeutic effects on an infected rat model. The present work provides an efficient strategy for the rational design of high‐performance antibacterial materials to fight biomedical device‐associated infections.