Antimicrobial resistance constitutes a severe threat to human health across the globe. Antimicrobial peptides have been demonstrated to have distinct advantages, including broad spectrum, low risk of inducing pathogenic resistance. Furthermore, their antibacterial activity can be promoted when they form self-assembly architectures through adjusting the intermolecular interactions. Therefore, the key strategy is to design antimicrobial peptides to optimize their efficiencies in multifunctional target interactions and maximize their bioactivity efficacy.
This Research Topic will focus on repurposing antimicrobial peptides, mainly including intracellular-targeting and intercellular-interacting antimicrobial peptides, such as quorum-sensing oriented, multiple-headed specifically targeted, and membrane-targeting short peptides. Through a series of molecular design, synthesis, functional and nanostructural characterization, a group of markedly improved self-assembly antimicrobial peptides will be developed and provide a theoretical basis for the development of novel short peptide antibiotics. At the same time, the self-assembly behavior to model interfaces, underlying antibacterial actions and nanostructure of multifunctional targeting antimicrobial peptides in solution will be investigated in detail.
We welcome researchers to contribute Original Research and Review articles for this Research Topic. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
1. The molecular design and synthesis of novel targeting antimicrobial peptides
2. Characterization of self-assembly of antimicrobial peptides in solution
3. The underlying antibacterial actions of antimicrobial peptides
4. Analysis of the synergistic effects of antimicrobial peptides and traditional antibiotics
5. Evaluation of bioactivity efficacy and pharmacological activity in vitro and in vivo
Keywords: antimicrobial peptides, self-assembly, intracellular-targeting and intercellular-interacting short peptides, nanostructural characterization, antibacterial actions
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
