As rising antibiotic resistance becomes a concern, researchers are developing antimicrobial peptides as alternative therapeutics to traditional antibiotics. Intracellular bacterial infections pose a particular challenge, as conventional antibiotics are not able to effectively penetrate host cells to target pathogens. Nanopeptides can be engineered with specific domains that allow broader functionality to address this particular challenge. Research recently published in Science Magazine highlights how a group of researchers engineered nanopeptides that are able to enter cells and specifically target bacterial invaders. These nanopeptides self-assemble into functional units that are able to kill bacteria by disrupting cell membranes with significantly reduced toxicity to host tissues. Notably, bacteria did not develop resistance to these peptides over prolonged treatment, an essential property to make them useful in expanding the arsenal of tools clinicians have to handle antibiotic resistant infections. ?? ?? ?? #peptides #peptidetheraputics #peptideresearch #antibioticresistance
Researchers have constructed self-assembled nanopeptides that penetrate cells and target intracellular bacterial infections, which are increasingly difficult to treat due to antibiotic resistance. Learn more in #ScienceAdvances: https://scim.ag/4k51aHN