Synthesis of Sustainable Iso- and n-Fatty Acid Arginate Hydrochloride
with Antimicrobial Properties
Abstract
The negative impact of the synthetic antimicrobials and the overuse of
antibiotics have caused global concern, which necessitates the
development of a new form of antimicrobials that are derived from
natural compounds. In this study, the synthetic route of producing water
soluble iso-fatty acid arginate hydrochloride derivatives is
investigated by introducing branched (iso-) chain and other linear- (n-)
chain fatty acids to the amino acid “arginine” molecules. The two-step
synthesis is straightforward and provides an efficient 91%, 88%, and
76% product yield for ethyl n-lauroyl arginate hydrochloride, ethyl
n-oleoyl arginate hydrochloride, and ethyl iso-oleoyl arginate
hydrochloride, respectively. ATR-FT-IR, NMR, and LC-MS-Q-TOF techniques
are used to thoroughly characterize the products. The antimicrobial
characteristic of the synthesized ethyl n-lauroyl arginate (LAE) shows a
similar activity against both Gram+ and Gram- bacteria as the commercial
LAE product. However, its analogs are found to have antimicrobial
property primarily against Gram-positive bacteria.