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Updated: Jan 20, 2026

Production and Visualization of Bacterial Spheroplasts and Protoplasts to Characterize Antimicrobial Peptide Localization
Published on: August 11, 2018
Antimicrobial Peptide-Templated Silver Nanoclusters with Membrane Activity for Enhanced Bacterial Killing
Xingshu Fei1, Xiaochuan Ma1, Ge Fang1
1State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) & Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
Abstract:
We aimed to develop antimicrobial agents that satisfy biosafety considerations while exhibiting efficient antimicrobial activity. Peptide-capped silver nanoclusters (peptide@AgNCs) were designed. In addition, the antimicrobial activity and mechanism of peptide@AgNCs were studied. The hemolysis and cytotoxicity tests on mammalian cells were used to confirm the biocompatibility of peptide@ AgNCs. KLA@AgNCs exhibited dramatic antimicrobial activity without inducing significant cytotoxicity in mammalian cells. The KLA@AgNCs destroyed the integrity of the bacterial membrane and induced ROS accumulation, causing oxidative damage to biomolecules. The malfunction of the respiratory chain complexes I and V completely suppresses the energy production, ultimately accelerating the death of the bacteria. Our findings may advance the development of Ag-based nanomaterials with enhanced bactericidal activity and improved biocompatibility.
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