Antibacterial effect of peptide conjugates with a quaternized chitosan derivative and its estimation by the method of atomic force microscopy

We obtained a number of conjugates based on a quaternized chitosan derivative and antimicrobial peptides (melittin and warnerin) crosslinked by microbial transglutaminase. We determined the optimal conditions for the synthesis (30 minutes, with a mole ratio of peptides and chitosan derivative of 1.4: 100) and studied the antibacterial properties of obtained conjugates. The antibacterial effect of the conjugates was found to be greater than that of their components. The antibacterial activity of the conjugates was determined by the double-dilution method and by atomic force microscopy.