**New Poly(Propylene Imine) Dendrimer Modified with Acridine and Its Cu(II) Complex: Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity**

**Paula Bosch 1,\*, Desislava Staneva 2, Evgenia Vasileva-Tonkova 3, Petar Grozdanov 3, Ivanka Nikolova 3, Rositsa Kukeva 4, Radostina Stoyanova <sup>4</sup> and Ivo Grabchev 5,\***


Received: 21 July 2019; Accepted: 16 September 2019; Published: 18 September 2019

**Abstract:** A second-generation poly(propylene imine) dendrimer modified with acridine and its Cu(II) complex have been synthesized for the first time. It has been found that two copper ions form complexes with the nitrogen atoms of the dendrimeric core by coordinate bonds. The new compounds have been characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The spectral characteristics of the modified dendrimer have been measured in different organic solvents, and a negative fluorescence solvatochromism has been observed. The antimicrobial activity of the dendrimers has been tested against model pathogenic microorganisms in agar and by broth dilution method. The cotton fabric treated with both dendrimers has been evaluated towards pathogenic microorganisms. The obtained modified cotton fabrics have been shown to hamper bacterial growth and to prevent biofilm formation. Dendrimer cytotoxicity has been investigated in vitro in the model HEp-2 cell line.

**Keywords:** dendrimer; metallodendrimer; acridine; antimicrobial activity; antibacterial cotton
