Antimicrobial peptides: Design, chemical synthesis, activity evaluation, and application

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are active short peptides that exist in microorganisms, insects, amphibians, plants, and mammals. Some naturally occurring AMPs have low antimicrobial activity, high haemolysis, potential toxicity toward mammalian cells, and high susceptibility to proteolytic degradation, which limit their practical application. In recent years, many efforts have been made to design and modify AMPs to improve their properties. The present review focuses on site-directed mutation, truncation, hybridisation, capping, and cyclisation of AMPs. The review further introduces the application of solid-phase peptide synthesis technology for AMPs, and summarises the methods for evaluating the antimicrobial activity of AMPs. The in-depth research on AMPs is expected to play an essential role in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, food industry, and medicine.