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ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES AS POTENTIAL THERAPEUTICS: ADVANTAGES, CHALLENGES AND RECENT ADVANCES

AMMAR ALMAAYTAH *

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The increasing use of conventional antibiotics and the slow development of new classes of antimicrobials have contributed to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. This issue has alarmed public health authorities worldwide and has generated a global call for the development of new effective antimicrobial agents. The development of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as a novel class of effective therapeutic antimicrobials has attracted widespread attention due to their unique properties. Compared to conventional antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides offer a variety of advantages over their conventional counterparts. These include their potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity in addition to their ability to slow the emergence of resistance and their capability of modulating the host immune response. Despite the progress that has been made in the development of antimicrobial peptides, the clinical use of these agents has been hindered by the various inherent structural limitations within AMPs and the stringent pharmaceutical regulatory environment. Accordingly, great efforts have been made to redesign and repurpose AMPs to tackle these challenges and accelerate their arrival at the clinic. This review provides an overview of the various properties of AMPs and comprehensively analyses the various advantages and challenges of employing this class of antimicrobial agents. Finally, it also highlights the recent developments in generating more effective strategies to address the challenges and obstacles hindering the progression of AMPs as effective therapeutic agents.