Title:Mechanistic Aspects of Peptide-Membrane Interactions Determined by Optical, Dielectric and Piezoelectric Techniques: An Overview
Volume: 14
Issue: 7
Author(s): Maria D.L. Oliveira, Octavio L. Franco, Jessica M. Nascimento, Celso P. de Melo and Cesar A.S. Andrade
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Antimicrobial peptides; phospholipids; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy;
quartz crystal microbalance; peptide-lipid association.
Abstract: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been isolated from a wide variety of organisms that include microorganisms,
plants, insects, frogs and mammals. As part of the innate immune system expressed in many tissues, AMPs are able
to provide protection against invasion of foreign microorganisms and exhibit a broad spectrum of activity against bacteria,
fungi and/or virus. Non-AMPs cell-penetrating peptides have been used as carriers for overcoming the membrane barrier
and helping in the delivery of various molecules into the cell. Physicochemical peptide-lipid interactions studies can provide
us with reliable molecular information about microbe defense response, including the elucidation of the prevailing
mechanisms of its action, such as the barrel-stave, toroidal pore, carpet and detergent-like models. In this paper, we present
an overview of the peptide-lipid mechanisms of interaction as well as discuss alternative techniques that could help to
elucidate the peptides functionality. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy
and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are useful techniques to investigate in details of the peptide-membrane
interaction. The techniques here discussed could also offer specific and low-cost methods that can to shed some light over
the different modes of action of AMPs, contributing to the development of drugs against infectious diseases.