Recent Developments in Antimicrobial-Peptide-Conjugated Gold Nanoparticles

Bioconjug Chem. 2017 Nov 15;28(11):2673-2686. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00368. Epub 2017 Sep 26.

Abstract

The escalation of multidrug-resistant pathogens has created a dire need to develop novel ways of addressing this global therapeutic challenge. Because of their antimicrobial activities, the combination of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and nanoparticles is a promising tool with which to kill drug-resistant pathogens. In recent years, several studies using AMP-nanoparticle conjugates, especially metallic nanoparticles, as potential antimicrobial agents against drug-resistant pathogens have been published. Among these, antimicrobial-peptide-conjugated gold nanoparticles (AMP-AuNPs) are particularly attractive because of the nontoxic nature of gold and the possibility of fine-tuning the AMP-NP conjugation chemistry. The following review discusses recent developments in the synthesis and antimicrobial activity studies of AMP-AuNPs. The classification of AMPs, their mechanisms of action, methods used for functionalizing AuNPs with AMPs, and the antimicrobial activities of the conjugates are discussed.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / chemistry*
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / pharmacology*
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / therapeutic use
  • Bacteria / drug effects*
  • Bacterial Infections / drug therapy*
  • Drug Discovery
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Gold / pharmacology*
  • Gold / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Metal Nanoparticles / therapeutic use
  • Models, Molecular
  • Nanoconjugates / chemistry*
  • Nanoconjugates / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
  • Nanoconjugates
  • Gold