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Although peptide amphiphiles have been explored as nanomaterials for different applications, nanostructures formed by hierarchical molecular assembly of sequence-specific peptidomimetics are much less developed. Such protein-like nanomaterials could enhance the current application of peptide-based amphiphiles by enriching the diversity of nanostructures, increasing in vivo stability for biomedical applications, and facilitating the understanding of biomacromolecular self-assembly. Herein we present a biomimetic γ-AApeptide amphiphile which forms nanorods. Our results demonstrate the capability of γ-AApeptide amphiphiles as a potential scaffold for the preparation of biomimetic and bioinspired nanostructures. The programmability and biocompatibility of γ-AApeptides could lead to novel nanomaterials for a wide variety of applications.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) hold promise to circumvent the emergence of drug resistance occurring in the treatment of bacteria using many conventional antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptidomimetics, which mimic bactericidal mechanisms of AMPs, may overcome the disadvantages of AMPs and become the new generation of antibiotic therapeutics. In this review, some recent examples in the development of antimicrobial peptidomimetics are highlighted. The potential of antimicrobial agents has been demonstrated for therapeutic uses. Meanwhile, perspectives on their further development and applications are also presented.

Cell-penetrating peptides including the trans-activating transcriptional activator (Tat) from HIV-1 have been used as carriers for intracellular delivery of a myriad of cargoes including drugs, molecular probes, DNAs and nanoparticles. Utilizing fluorescence flow cytometry and confocal fluorescence microscopy, we demonstrate that a γ-AApeptide mimetic of Tat (48-57) can cross the cell membranes and enter the cytoplasm and nucleus of cells, with efficiency comparable to or better than that of Tat peptide (48-57). Deletion of the four side chains of the γ-AApeptide attenuates translocation capability. We also establish that the γ-AApeptide is even less toxic than the Tat peptide against mammalian cells. In addition to their low toxicity, γ-AApeptides are resistant to protease degradation, which may prove to be advantageous over α-peptides for further development of molecular transporters for intracellular delivery.

The creation and development of nonnatural peptidomimetics has become an area of increasing significance in bioorganic and chemical biology. A wide range of new peptide mimics with novel structures and functions are urgently needed to be explored in order to identify potential drug candidates and targeted probes, and to study protein functions. AApeptides are a new class of peptide mimics based on chiral PNA backbone. They are resistant to proteolytic degradation and have limitless potential for diversification. They have been found to have a wide variety of biological applications including cellular translocation, disruption of protein-protein interactions, formation of nanostructures, antimicrobial activity, etc. The synthesis of AApeptides is modular and straightforward. In this chapter, methods for the synthesis of AApeptides (including different subclasses) are described.

Antibiotic resistance is an increasing public health concern around the world, and is recognized as one of the greatest threats facing humankind in the 21st century. Natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small cationic amphiphilic peptides found in virtually all living organisms, and play a key role in the defense against bacterial infections. Compared with conventional antibiotics, which target specific metabolic processes, AMPs are able to adopt globally amphipathic conformations, and kill bacteria through disruption of their membranes. As such, AMPs do not readily induce drug-resistance. However, AMPs are associated with intrinsic drawbacks such as low-to-moderate activity, susceptibility to enzymatic degradation, and inconvenience for optimization. Recently, we have developed a new class of peptidomimetics termed “AApeptides”. Such peptide mimics are highly resistant to protease degradation and are straightforward for chemical diversification and development. Our current studies show that AApeptides with globally amphipathic structures can mimic the bactericidal mechanism of AMPs, and display potent and broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-positive and -negative multi-drug-resistant bacteria. In this review, we summarize our current findings of antimicrobial AApeptides, and discuss potential future directions on the development of more potent and specific analogues.

The creation and development of nonnatural peptidomimetics has become an area of increasing significance in bioorganic and chemical biology. A wide range of new peptide mimics with novel structures and functions are urgently needed to be explored in order to identify potential drug candidates and targeted probes, and to study protein functions. AApeptides are a new class of peptide mimics based on chiral PNA backbone. They are resistant to proteolytic degradation and have limitless potential for diversification. They have been found to have a wide variety of biological applications including cellular translocation, disruption of protein-protein interactions, formation of nanostructures, antimicrobial activity, etc. The synthesis of AApeptides is modular and straightforward. In this chapter, methods for the synthesis of AApeptides (including different subclasses) are described.

There is increasing demand to develop antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as next generation antibiotic agents, as they have the potential to circumvent emerging drug resistance against conventional antibiotic treatments. Non-natural antimicrobial peptidomimetics are an ideal example of this, as they have significant potency and in vivo stability. Here we report for the first time the design of lipidated γ-AApeptides as antimicrobial agents. These lipo-γ-AApeptides show potent broad-spectrum activities against fungi and a series of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including clinically relevant pathogens that are resistant to most antibiotics. We have analyzed their structure-function relationship and antimicrobial mechanisms using membrane depolarization and fluorescent microscopy assays. Introduction of unsaturated lipid chain significantly decreases hemolytic activity and thereby increases the selectivity. Furthermore, a representative lipo-γ-AApeptide did not induce drug resistance in S. aureus, even after 17 rounds of passaging. These results suggest that the lipo-γ-AApeptides have bactericidal mechanisms analogous to those of AMPs and have strong potential as a new class of novel antibiotic therapeutics.

In human physiology, proteins at all times are synthesized, processed, degraded and posttranslationally modified to varying degrees and at different rates, for their participations in a wide variety of activities to maintain normal functions of the body (Murray et al. 2007). In the successful proceedings of all the biological events, signals are consistently received and sent via physical contacts between proteins (Murray et al. 2007). The communication between proteins or the alternatively called non-covalent protein-protein interactions are thereby considered as important as proteins’ own functions (Murray et al. 2007). Disruptions of these signaling pathways by either mutational changes or deregulation of one of the protein partners would result in a series of diseases (Murray et al. 2007). On the other hand, therapeutic approaches based on chemical agents could potentially inhibit protein-protein interactions, thereby restoring the balance of signaling pathways, and leading to the cure of diseases (Murray et al. 2007). However, it is quite challenging to develop chemical agents which can target protein-protein interactions (Arkin et al. 2004; Whitty et al. 2006). Unlike the traditional medicinal chemistry approach, in which small molecule inhibitors are developed to target the hydrophobic pocket of enzymes / kinases, chemical agents are now required to bind to large surfaces of proteins that are usually amphiphilic and flexible (Murray et al. 2007). Yet a number of successful stories have been reported (Murray et al. 2007). Taking the p53/MDM2 system as an example, the p53/MDM2 has been a model system for the inhibition of protein-protein interactions, and has been reported to be the targets of a wide variety of inhibitors (Oren 1999; Balint et al. 2001; McLure et al. 2004; Brooks et al. 2006).

The interactions between proteins and RNAs are of vital importance for many cellular processes, including transcription and processing of RNA, translation, and viral infections. Here we report an γ-AApeptide that can mimic HIV-1 Tat protein and bind to TAR RNAs of HIV and BIV with nanomolar affinity, comparable to that of the RNA-binding fragment of Tat (amino acids 49–58). The interaction is resistant to the presence of a large excess of tRNA. With resistance to proteolytic hydrolysis and limitless potential for diversification, γ-AApeptides may emerge as a new class of peptidomimetics to modulate RNA-protein interactions.

Antibiotic resistance is an increasing public health concern around the world, and is recognized as one of the greatest threats facing humankind in the 21(st) century. Natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small cationic amphiphilic peptides found in virtually all living organisms, and play a key role in the defense against bacterial infections. Compared with conventional antibiotics, which target specific metabolic processes, AMPs are able to adopt globally amphipathic conformations, and kill bacteria through disruption of their membranes. As such, AMPs do not readily induce drug-resistance. However, AMPs are associated with intrinsic drawbacks such as low-to-moderate activity, susceptibility to enzymatic degradation, and inconvenience for optimization. Recently, we have developed a new class of peptidomimetics termed "AApeptides". Such peptide mimics are highly resistant to protease degradation and are straightforward for chemical diversification and development. Our current studies show that AApeptides with globally amphipathic structures can mimic the bactericidal mechanism of AMPs, and display potent and broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-positive and -negative multi-drug-resistant bacteria. In this review, we summarize our current findings of antimicrobial AApeptides, and discuss potential future directions on the development of more potent and specific analogues.

Antimicrobial drug resistance is one of the greatest threats facing mankind. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can potentially circumvent drug resistance, probably through a bacterial membrane-disruption mechanism. However, they suffer from low in vivo stability, potential immunogenicity, and difficulty in optimization. The development of antimicrobial peptidomimetics is therefore an emerging research area as they avoid the potential disadvantages of AMPs. Cyclic peptidomimetics are of significant interest since constraints induced by cyclization are expected to further improve their antimicrobial activity. Nonetheless, the report of cyclic oligomeric peptidomimetics for antimicrobial development is rare. Herein, for the first time, we report the design and synthesis of cyclic γ-AApeptides via an on-resin cyclization. These cyclic γ-AApeptides are potent and broad-spectrum active against fungus and multi-drug resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Our results demonstrate the potential of cyclic γ-AApeptides as a new class of antibiotics to circumvent drug resistance by mimicking the bactericidal mechanism of AMPs. Meanwhile, the facile synthesis of cyclic γ-AApeptides may further expand the applications of γ-AApeptides in biomedical sciences.

A new class of peptide mimics termed “γ-AApeptides” has been described. The design and synthesis of γ-AApeptides, and potential bioactivities towards p53/MDM2 interaction were demonstrated. γ-AApeptides were also found to be highly resistant to proteolysis. The development of sequence-specific γ-AApeptides may lead to a family of peptidomimetics with a new framework for drug discovery or peptide/protein mimicry.

We report a new class of peptide mimetics, α-AApeptides, that display broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. With non-hemolytic activity, resistance to protease hydrolysis, and easy sequence programmability, α-AApeptides may emerge as a novel class of antibiotics.