Background
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) form
an
early defense
against invading
microorganisms.
AMPs have been studied extensively
during the
last
15 years, see e.g."Antimicrobial Peptides
and Human
Disease" by
Shafer (Springer 2005).
Some commercially available peptides
related
to AMPs
are Nisin, Gramicidins and Polymyxins.
LL-37
One of several AMPs is LL-37. It is
produced by
epithelial cells and in
circulating
blood cells.
Problems with LL-37 include
that the
peptide
strikes
unselectively
against
both pathologic microorganisms
and
the patient’s own cells.
Use of Seek & Heal™ targeting to
target pathologic
organisms therefore
was expected to increase usa-
bility of
the
peptide.
Project status
Due to an unfavorable price-to-
performance profile of
LL-37,
substances other than LL-37 are
today incorpo-
rated in products
using Seek & Heal™ targeting. |
|
Amino acid color codes |
not polar, hydrophobic |
aromatic hydrophobic |
aromatic hydrophobic polar |
acidic (anionic) |
polar uncharged |
basic (i.e. cationic) |
basic aromatic |
|
|
Above:
LL-37 in surface chemical and cartoon view.
Structure from Li, X. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc.128
(2006) 5776.
|
|