Nanofiber Peptides for Bacterial Trapping: A Novel Approach to Antibiotic Alternatives in Wound Infections.

The pervasive employment of antibiotics has engendered the advent of drug-resistant bacteria, imperiling the well-being and health of both humans and animals. Infections precipitated by such multi-resistant bacteria, especially those induced by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, pervade hospital settings, constituting a grave menace to patient vitality. Antimicrobial peptides have garnered considerable attention as a potent countermeasure against multi-drug resistant bacteria. In preceding research endeavors, we identified an insect-derived antimicrobial peptide that, while possessing antimicrobial attributes, manifested suboptimal efficacy against drug-resistant gram-positive bacteria. To ameliorate this issue, we enhanced the antimicrobial capabilities of the initial β-hairpin AMPs by substituting the structural sequence of the original AMPs with variant lengths of hydrophobic amino acid-hydrophilic amino acid repeat units. Throughout this endeavor, we have identified a number of peptides that possess highly effective antibacterial characteristics against a wide range of bacteria. Additionally, some of these peptides have the ability to self-assemble into nanofibers, which then build networks in a distinctive manner to capture bacteria. Consequently, they represent prospective antibiotic alternatives for addressing wound infections engendered by drug-resistant bacteria. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.