Helical Antimicrobial Peptide Foldamers Containing Non-proteinogenic Amino Acids

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are potential novel therapeutic drugs against microbial infections. Most AMPs function by disrupting microbial membranes because of their amphipathic properties and ordered secondary structures. In this minireview, we describe recent efforts to develop helical AMP foldamers containing non-proteinogenic amino acids, such as α,α-disubstituted α-amino acids, β-amino acids, γ-amino acids, side-chain stapling and N-alkyl glycines.

Keywords: Gram-negative bacteria; Gram-positive bacteria; antimicrobial peptides; foldamers; helixes; non-proteinogenic amino acids.