Host-defense peptides inhibit bacterial growth but show little toxicity toward mammalian
cells. A variety of synthetic polymers have been reported to mimic this antibacterial
selectivity; however, achieving comparable selectivity for fungi is more difficult because
these pathogens are eukaryotes. Here we report nylon-3 polymers based on a novel subunit
that display potent antifungal activity (MIC= 3.1 μg/mL for Candida albicans) and favorable
selectivity (IC10> 400 μg/mL for 3T3 fibroblast toxicity; HC10> 400 μg/mL for hemolysis).