Biophysical study of antimicrobial peptides interaction with Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial model membrane systems

DE MARCO, N; MEDINA AMADO, C; MINAHK, C; MORERO, R; DUPUY, F

Santiago del Estero

Congreso; XLIV Reunión Anual SAB 2015; 2015

Sociedad Argentina de Biofísica

The bacterial membrane is a potential target of new antimicrobial agents for overcoming the increasing resistance of microorganisms towards traditional antibiotics. In this regard, antimicrobial peptides have been gaining increasing interest as most of them interact with membranes. In this work, the interaction of a microcin produced by a Escherichia coli strain and enterocin CRL35 produced by Enterococcus muntdii with model membranes resembling cytoplasmic membrane of both Gram positive and negative bacteria were studied with the Langmuir monolayer technique. Although both peptides presented surface activity at bare air-water interface, they interacted favorably with the lipid monolayers at surface pressures significantly higher than those reached by the peptides. Also, microbiological assays indicate that increasing order degree increase the biological activity of microcin J25.