Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest public concerns in the 21st century. Host-defense peptides (HDPs) can potentially mitigate the problem through bacterial membrane disruption; however, they suffer from moderate activity and low stability. We recently developed a new class of peptidomimetics termed “AApeptides”. This class of peptidomimetics can mimic the mechanism of action of HDPs, and effectively arrest the growth of multidrug resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. As they are built on unnatural backbone, they are resistant to proteolytic degradation. In this review, we summarize the development of this class of antimicrobial peptidomimetics, and discuss the future perspective on how they can move forward on combating antibiotic resistance.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, Host-defense peptides (HDPs), AApeptides, Peptidomimetics, Antimicrobial activity.