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Pharmaceutics
Special Issues
Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Potential Pharmaceutical Applications
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Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Potential Pharmaceutical Applications

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Biopharmaceutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2025) | Viewed by 2417

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Christos Petrou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Pharmacy Programme/Department of Health Sciences/University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
Interests: peptides; peptide synthesis; natural products; pharmacognosy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yiannis Sarigiannis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Health Sciences, Pharmacy, University of Nicosia, 46 Makedonitissas Ave, P.O. Box 24005, 1700 Nicosia, Cyprus
2. Boactive Molecules Research Center, 46 Makedonitissas Ave, P.O. Box 24005, 1700 Nicosia, Cyprus
Interests: peptides; peptide synthesis; drug delivery; medicinal chemistry
Dr. Christos Papaneophytou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences, School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus
Interests: drug development; small-molecule inhibitors; miRNAs; antimicrobial compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The European Union and World Health Organisation have declared antimicrobial resistance among the major global public health threats facing humanity. Especially in the EU/EEA, it is reported to be responsible for more than 35,000 deaths every year. In addition, resistant microorganisms also have significant consequences, including for healthcare systems. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies are urgently needed.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a critical role in the immune system and have distinctive structures and functions for sophisticated action mechanisms to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses and cancer cells. Antibacterial peptides are critical and promising tools for antimicrobial drug development. This Special Issue aims to extend and update knowledge on the antimicrobial peptides and their potential pharmaceutical applications. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following: the screening of antimicrobial peptides, efficacy of novel antimicrobial peptides, mechanisms of action, stability and the ADME profile, the biological functions of antimicrobial peptides, in vivo studies and delivery strategies.

Original articles as well as reviews of studies on these topics are welcome.

Dr. Christos Petrou
Dr. Yiannis Sarigiannis
Dr. Christos Papaneophytou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antimicrobial peptides in pharmaceutical applications
  • screening of antimicrobial peptides
  • efficacy of novel antimicrobial peptides
  • drug delivery
  • stability
  • ADME profile
  • biological functions of antimicrobial peptides
  • wound healing

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1574 KiB  
Article
CLEC3A-Derived Antimicrobial Peptides Reduce Staphylococcus aureus Bacterial Counts in an In Vivo Biomaterial-Associated Infection Mouse Model
by Denise Meinberger, Gabriele Hermes, Bent Brachvogel, Gerhard Sengle, Dzemal Elezagic, Annika Roth, Johannes Ruthard, Thomas Streichert and Andreas R. Klatt
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(2), 234; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17020234 - 12 Feb 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Biomaterials are an essential part of healthcare for both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Although some biomaterials possess antimicrobial properties, introducing biomaterial into the body may lead to infections due to bacterial adhesion on their surfaces and still poses a major clinical problem. [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Biomaterials are an essential part of healthcare for both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Although some biomaterials possess antimicrobial properties, introducing biomaterial into the body may lead to infections due to bacterial adhesion on their surfaces and still poses a major clinical problem. Peptides derived from the human cartilage-specific C-type lectin domain family 3 member A (CLEC3A) show a potent antimicrobial effect. In addition, coating titanium, a commonly used prosthetic material, with the CLEC3A-derived AMPs HT-47 and WRK-30 greatly reduces the number of adherent bacteria in vitro. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of CLEC3A-derived peptides HT-47 and WRK-30 in reducing bacterial adhesion and mitigating infection in vivo in a murine biomaterial-associated infection model. Methods: To do so, an in vivo mouse infection model was used, where titanium plates—either uncoated or coated with chimeric CLEC3A-derived peptides TiBP-HT-47 and TiBP-WRK-30—were implanted subcutaneously into mice. This was followed by the introduction of Staphylococcus aureus bacterial cultures to induce a biomaterial-associated infection. After 24 h, the titanium plates, surrounding tissue, and mice blood samples were investigated. Results: CLEC3A-coated titanium plates lead to a significantly lower bacterial count than uncoated ones. Additionally, they prevent the infection from spreading to the surrounding tissue. Moreover, mice with CLEC3A-coated implants display lower IL-6 serum levels and therefore decreased systemic inflammation. Conclusions: In conclusion, in this biomaterial-associated infection mouse-model, CLEC3A-derived peptides show in vivo antimicrobial activity by reducing bacterial burden on biomaterial and wound tissue and decreasing systemic inflammation, making them promising candidates for clinical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Potential Pharmaceutical Applications)
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15 pages, 4197 KiB  
Article
Effective Immobilization of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides via Conjugation onto Activated Silicon Catheter Surfaces
by Irem Soyhan, Tuba Polat, Erkan Mozioglu, Tugba Arzu Ozal Ildenız, Merve Acikel Elmas, Sinan Cebeci, Nihan Unubol and Ozgul Gok
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(8), 1045; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16081045 - 6 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1261
Abstract
Antibiotic-resistant microorganisms have become a serious threat to public health, resulting in hospital infections, the majority of which are caused by commonly used urinary tract catheters. Strategies for preventing bacterial adhesion to the catheters’ surfaces have been potentially shown as effective methods, such [...] Read more.
Antibiotic-resistant microorganisms have become a serious threat to public health, resulting in hospital infections, the majority of which are caused by commonly used urinary tract catheters. Strategies for preventing bacterial adhesion to the catheters’ surfaces have been potentially shown as effective methods, such as coating thesurface with antimicrobial biomolecules. Here, novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were designed as potential biomolecules to prevent antibiotic-resistant bacteria from binding to catheter surfaces. Thiolated AMPs were synthesized using solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), and prep-HPLC was used to obtain AMPs with purity greater than 90%. On the other side, the silicone catheter surface was activated by UV/ozone treatment, followed by functionalization with allyl moieties for conjugation to the free thiol group of cystein in AMPs using thiol-ene click chemistry. Peptide-immobilized surfaces were found to become more resistant to bacterial adhesion while remaining biocompatible with mammalian cells. The presence and site of conjugation of peptide molecules were investigated by immobilizing them to catheter surfaces from both ends (C-Pep and Pep-C). It was clearly demonstrated that AMPs conjugated to the surface via theirN terminus have a higher antimicrobial activity. This strategy stands out for its effective conjugation of AMPs to silicone-based implant surfaces for the elimination of bacterial infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Potential Pharmaceutical Applications)
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