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Updated: Jul 24, 2025

Antimicrobial Synergy Testing by the Inkjet Printer-assisted Automated Checkerboard Array and the Manual Time-kill Method
Published on: April 18, 2019
Antimicrobial Peptide Synergies for Fighting Infectious Diseases
Jessica T Mhlongo1,2, Ayman Y Waddad2, Fernando Albericio2,3
1KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4041, South Africa.
Abstract:
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are essential elements of thehost defense system. Characterized by heterogenous structures and broad-spectrumaction, they are promising candidates for combating multidrug resistance. Thecombined use of AMPs with other antimicrobial agents provides a new arsenal ofdrugs with synergistic action, thereby overcoming the drawback of monotherapiesduring infections. AMPs kill microbes via pore formation, thus inhibitingintracellular functions. This mechanism of action by AMPs is an advantage overantibiotics as it hinders the development of drug resistance. The synergisticeffect of AMPs will allow the repurposing of conventional antimicrobials andenhance their clinical outcomes, reduce toxicity, and, most significantly,prevent the development of resistance. In this review, various synergies ofAMPs with antimicrobials and miscellaneous agents are discussed. The effect ofstructural diversity and chemical modification on AMP properties is firstaddressed and then different combinations that can lead to synergistic action,whether this combination is between AMPs and antimicrobials, or AMPs andmiscellaneous compounds, are attended. This review can serve as guidance whenredesigning and repurposing the use of AMPs in combination with other antimicrobialagents for enhanced clinical outcomes.
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