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Review
. 2020 Mar 20;10(3):560.
doi: 10.3390/nano10030560.

Nanomedicines for the Delivery of Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs)

Maria C Teixeira  1 , Claudia Carbone  1   2 , Maria C Sousa  3   4 , Marta Espina  5   6 , Maria L Garcia  5   6 , Elena Sanchez-Lopez  5   6   7 , Eliana B Souto  1   8
Affiliations
Review

Nanomedicines for the Delivery of Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs)

Maria C Teixeira et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

Microbial infections are still among the major public health concerns since several yeasts and fungi, and other pathogenic microorganisms, are responsible for continuous growth of infections and drug resistance against bacteria. Antimicrobial resistance rate is fostering the need to develop new strategies against drug-resistant superbugs. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small peptide-based molecules of 5-100 amino acids in length, with potent and broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties. They are part of the innate immune system, which can represent a minimal risk of resistance development. These characteristics contribute to the description of these molecules as promising new molecules in the development of new antimicrobial drugs. However, efforts in developing new medicines have not resulted in any decrease of drug resistance yet. Thus, a technological approach on improving existing drugs is gaining special interest. Nanomedicine provides easy access to innovative carriers, which ultimately enable the design and development of targeted delivery systems of the most efficient drugs with increased efficacy and reduced toxicity. Based on performance, successful experiments, and considerable market prospects, nanotechnology will undoubtedly lead a breakthrough in biomedical field also for infectious diseases, as there are several nanotechnological approaches that exhibit important roles in restoring antibiotic activity against resistant bacteria.

Keywords: antimicrobial peptides; antimicrobial resistance; bacterial and virus infections; coronavirus; nanomaterials; nanomedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Record count per discipline of the number of papers published between 2000 and 2020 indexed in the Web of Science using “AMPs and Nanoparticles or Nanomaterials” as keywords (date of search; 12th March 2020).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Three of the main antibiotic resistance strategies used by bacteria.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of (A) nanomaterials with inherent antimicrobial properties, and (B) nanoparticle-based antimicrobial drugs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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