Exploring the links between peptoid antibacterial activity and toxicityThe authors declare no competing interests.Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6md00648e

Peptoids are a promising class of antimicrobial agents with reported activities against a range of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi and most recently parasites. However, at present the available toxicity data is somewhat limited and as such rationally designing effective antimicrobial peptoids can be challenging. Herein, we present the toxicity profiling of a series of linear peptoids against mammalian cell lines (HaCaT and HepG2). The cytotoxicity of the peptoid library has then been correlated with their antibacterial properties against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and also to the hydrophobicity of the peptoid sequences. The work presented provides valuable data to aid in the future rational design of antimicrobial peptoids. The cytoxicity profiling of a series of linear peptoids against mammalian cell lines has been carried out and correlated against both antibacterial properties and hydrophobicity.