Biofilms allow bacteria to adhere to surfaces and offer protection from antibiotics. Researchers sought to generate a synthetic peptide based on a human peptide with antimicrobial properties to target the development of biofilms.
The synthetic peptide, delivered by the ointment, inhibited biofilm development and cleared wounds in mice of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. The gel also proved effective against the bacteria when treating human skin samples in the lab.
“This peptide could provide a much-needed boost to our arsenal of antibiotics,” David Weiss, a microbiologist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta who was uninvolved with the study, told Science News.
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