Antibacterial Activity of Novel Agent N-2-Hydroxypropyl Trimethyl Ammonium Chloride Chitosan against Streptococcus mutans

Dental caries (DC) is one of the most common oral diseases and is mainly caused by <i>Streptococcus mutans</i> (<i>S. mutans</i>). The use of antibiotics against <i>S. mutans</i> usually has side effects, including developing resistance. N-2-Hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (N-2-HACC), a natural product, has great potential utility in antibacterial agents owing to its low toxicity and good biocompatibility. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to explore the antimicrobial activity of N-2-HACC against <i>S. mutans</i> through the permeability of the cell wall, integrity of cell membrane, protein and nucleic acid synthesis, respiratory metabolism, and biofilm formation. Our results confirmed that the MIC of N-2-HACC against <i>S. mutans</i> was 0.625 mg/mL with a 90.01 ± 1.54% inhibition rate. SEM observed the formation of cavities on the surface of <i>S. mutans</i> after 12 h N-2-HACC treatment. The level of alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity was higher in the N-2-HACC treatment group than in the control group, indicating that N-2-HACC can improve the permeability of the cell wall. Also, N-2-HACC treatment can destroy the cell membrane of <i>S. mutans</i> by increasing conductivity and absorbance at 260 nm, decreasing cell metabolic activity, and enhancing the fluorescence at 488 nm. Respiratory metabolism revealed that the activities of the Na⁺-K⁺-ATP enzyme, pyruvate kinase (PK), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) were decreased after N-2-HACC treatment, revealing that N-2-HACC can inhibit glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) of <i>S. mutans</i>. Moreover, N-2-HACC can also decrease the contents of the nucleic acid and solution protein of <i>S. mutans</i>, interfere with biofilm formation, and decrease the mRNA expression level of biofilm formation-related genes. Therefore, these results verify that N-2-HACC has strong antibacterial activity against <i>S. mutans</i>, acting via cell membrane integrity damage, increasing the permeability of cell walls, interfering with bacterial protein and nucleic acid synthesis, perturbing glycolysis and the TCA cycle, and inhibiting biofilm formation. It is suggested that N-2-HACC may represent a new potential synthetically modified antibacterial material against <i>S. mutans</i>.