Understanding the mechanisms of Interactions of Short Antimicrobial Peptides with Model Membranes

The increased prevalence of multi antibiotic-resistant pathogens has been listed by the WHO as one of the biggest threats to modern day healthcare, food security and development. Short antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are attracting attention as an alternative to conventional antibiotics, and can target a range of microbes including viruses, fungus, bacteria and parasites. Previously we have investigated the selective activity of peptide R4F4 which was shown to reorganise membranes and be selectively active against p.aeurginosa. Here we plan to examine the self-assembly of AMPs based on this peptide, and investigate peptide interactions with model bacterial and human membranes using SAXS, with the aim of using this information to determine how the membrane is restructured which may lead to the antimicrobial activitty. The current aim is to improve the potency of this molecule, and understand the effects on the mechanism of action invoked from changes in primary sequences.