Development of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) for use in self-decontaminating coatings

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a class of short polypeptides usually associated with the host organism's innate immune system. AMPs have been identified in a wide range of host organisms, including plants, amphibians, fish, and humans. These peptides usually consist of 30-100 amino acids and are most often cationic. In addition to a net positive charge, AMPs often are amphipathic, containing both hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains. This property allows for increased interaction with and insertion into negatively charged cell walls and membranes of microbes. Because of the prevalence of antibiotic resistance among common human pathogens, recent research into AMPs has revolved around the attempt to increase the availability of drugs to which microbes are susceptible. Because the mechanism of kill for AMPs is different from that of most conventional antibiotics, which tend to be very specific in their targets, AMPs are thought to be a very attractive future substitute for traditional antibiotics. The development of novel self-decontaminating surfaces containing two AMPs previously isolated from Chrysophrys major is reported. These AMPs, Chrysophsin-1 and -3, demonstrated 1-4 logs kill of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria when incorporated into control acrylic coating systems.