Use of a real-time polymerase chain reaction thermocycler to study bacterial cell permeabilization by antimicrobial peptides.
Analytical biochemistry
confidence
Key findings
Real-time PCR thermocycler used to study bacterial cell permeabilization by LL-37 and magainin 2; no clinical/biological endpoints reported.
View source on PubMed (PMID 18656439) ↗
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Population
- Bacterial cells (in vitro)
- Dosing
- Not reported
- Duration
- Not reported
- Route
- In vitro
- Blinding
- not_reported
- Controls
- none
- Drug class
- antimicrobial peptide
Full abstract
Antimicrobial peptides are good leads to develop new antibiotics, but knowledge of their mode of action is a prerequisite. Destruction of the microbial membranes through a detergent-like mechanism is one of these modes of action. This is usually studied by using a fluorescent nucleic acid stain such as SYTOX Green, which is impermeable to living cells. Using a simple protocol based on the use of a standard real-time thermocycler, we confirmed that the actions of the antimicrobial peptides LL-37 and magainin 2 on bacterial cells are different.