Cytidine-Derived Hydrogels with Tunable Antibacterial Activities

Abstract

We herein report the preparation of hydrogels derived from cytidine and boronic acids in the presence of Ag+. These hydrogels, formed by i-motif like arrangement of cytidine and its boronate ester analogues possess excellent thixotropic and self-healing properties. The hydrogels exhibit potent antimicrobial activity that can be tuned by varying the functional groups in their boronic acid component and are selective against gram negative bacterial strains. Thus, these hydrogels might find potential use as antimicrobial agents and in stimuli responsive drug delivery applications.