Year: 2015
Type: review
Abstract: This Feature Article discusses several classes of lipopeptide with important biomedical applications as antimicrobial and antifungal agents, in immune therapies and in personal care applications among others. Two main classes of lipopeptide are considered: (i) bacterially-expressed lipopeptides with a cyclic peptide headgroup and (ii) linear lipopeptides (with one or more lipid chains) based on bio-derived and bio-inspired amino acid sequences with current clinical applications. The applications are briefly summarized, and the biophysical characterization of the molecules is reviewed, with a particular focus on self-assembly. For several of these types of biomolecule, the formation of micelles above a critical micelle concentration has been observed while others form bilayer structures, depending on conditions of pH and temperature. As yet, there are few studies on the possible relationship between self-assembly into structures such as micelles and bioactivity of this class of molecule although this is likely to attract further attention.
Source: Chemical Communications
DOI: 10.1039/c5cc01535a
Author: Ian W. Hamley
Institution: University of Reading
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W2110320743