Interactions of Short Antimicrobial Peptides with Bacteria

In the wake of rising bacterial resistance to 'conventional antibiotics', alternative designs for antimicrobials are being investigated for their potential to fight bacteria. Antimicrobial peptides are a group of molecules that exist broadly in nature, which seem more difficult for bacteria to develop resistance to, but mechanisms of action are not well understood. In order to elucidate some of their mechanisms and interactions, molecular dynamics simulations can be utilised to try and bridge the gap between molecular scale interactions and the effects observed in experiment. In this talk, I will explain some of the set up for these simulations, and the results of some simulations in relation to experimental measurements.