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Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Quantifying the Antifungal Activity of Peptides Against Candida albicans
Published on: January 13, 2023
A Thioether-Stabilized d-Proline-l-Proline-Induced β-Hairpin Peptide of Defensin Segment Increases Its Anti-Candida
Bingchuan Zhao1, Dan Yang1, Jack Ho Wong2
1School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Abstract:
We report a β-hairpin dual stabilizing strategy: a d-proline-l-proline (d-Pro-l-Pro) dipeptide as the nucleating turn, and a thioether tether as a side-chain linkage at a precisely designed position to stabilize the β-hairpin. This method was used to modify the C-terminal β-hairpin moiety of the plant defensin, pv-defensin, in order to obtain a stabilized peptide with enhanced anti-Candida albicans activity (MIC 84-3.0 μm), high serum stability (50 % remaining after 48 h) and low hemolysis (<10 % at 152 μm). This modified peptide penetrated the C. albicans cell membrane within 5 min and showed high activity against clinically isolated antibiotic-resistant C. albicans and Candida glabrata strains.
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