Antimicrobial Peptide-Driven Colloidal Transformations in Liquid-Crystalline Nanocarriers

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Mark Gontsarik
  • Matthias T Buhmann
  • Yaghmur, Anan
  • Qun Ren
  • Katharina Maniura-Weber
  • Stefan Salentinig

Designing efficient colloidal systems for the delivery of membrane active antimicrobial peptides requires in-depth understanding of their structural and morphological characteristics. Using dispersions of inverted type bicontinuous cubic phase (cubosomes), we examine the effect of integrating the amphiphilic peptide LL-37 at different concentrations on the self-assembled structure and evaluate its bactericidal ability against Escherichia coli. Small-angle X-ray scattering, dynamic light scattering, and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy show that LL-37 integrates into the bicontinuous cubic structure, inducing colloidal transformations to sponge and lamellar phases and micelles in a concentration-dependent manner. These investigations, together with in vitro evaluation studies using a clinically relevant bacterial strain, established the composition-nanostructure-activity relationship that can guide the design of new nanocarriers for antimicrobial peptides and may provide essential knowledge on the mechanisms underlying the bacterial membrane disruption with peptide-loaded nanostructures.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Volume7
Issue number17
Pages (from-to)3482-3486
Number of pages5
ISSN1948-7185
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Aug 2016

ID: 165000607