[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170382.].

Amphiphilicity and cationicity are properties shared between antimicrobial peptides and proteins that catalyze biomineralization reactions. Merging these two functionalities, we demonstrate a reaction where a cationic antimicrobial peptide catalyzes self-biomineralization within inorganic matrices. The resultant antimicrobial peptide nanoparticles retain biocidal activity, protect the peptide f...

A challenge when designing membrane-active peptide antibiotics with therapeutic potential is how to ensure a useful antibacterial activity whilst avoiding unacceptable cytotoxicity for host cells. Understanding their mode of interaction with membranes and the reasons underlying their ability to distinguish between bacterial and eukaryotic cytoplasmic cells is crucial for any rational attempt to...

Nisin is an antimicrobial peptide produced and secreted by several L. lactis strains and is specifically active against Gram-positive bacteria. In previous studies, nisin was purified via cation exchange chromatography at low pH employing a single-step elution using 1 M NaCl. Here, we describe an optimized purification protocol using a five-step NaCl elution to remove contaminants. The obtained...

A novel class of antibiotics based on the antimicrobial properties of immune peptides of multicellular organisms is attracting increasing interest as a major weapon against resistant microbes. It has been claimed that cationic antimicrobial peptides exploit fundamental features of the bacterial cell so that resistance is much less likely to evolve than in the case of conventional antibiotics. P...

Lin et al. examined the effects of lipid chains attached to N-terminal antimicrobial peptides, a type membrane-active on their membrane activity and bioactivity. The impact lipidation varied depending original peptides' hydrophobicity. By altering peptide conformations affecting self-aggregation behaviours, changed peptide-biomembrane interaction, ultimately bioactivity (e329).

While natural antimicrobial peptides are potential therapeutic agents, their physicochemical properties and bioactivity generally need to be enhanced for clinical and commercial development. We have previously developed a cationic, amphipathic α-helical, 11-residue peptide (named herein GA-W2: FLGWLFKWASK-NH₂) with potent antimicrobial and hemolytic activity, which was derived from a 24-residue...

BACKGROUND The proliferation of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, along with the lack of new drugs against them, has elicited the interest of the scientific community on the study and development of endogenous synthetic compounds with bacteriostatic or bactericidal activity. In recent years, several short-chain, low molecular weight peptides isolated from natural sources such as plants and a...

The rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria is causing a serious threat to the world's human population. Recent reports have identified bacterial strains displaying pan drug resistance against antibiotics and generating fears among medical health specialists that humanity is on the dawn of entering a post-antibiotics era. Global research is currently focused on expanding the lifetime of current an...