There has recently been great concern regarding antibiotics due to potential drug resistance and the impact of antibiotics on the environment. Antimicrobial peptides are believed to have potential as novel antimicrobial agents to address the problems of antibiotics. Herein, we report a set of Trp-rich dodecapeptides derived from PMAP-36 that are based on the peptide folding principle and the amino acid characteristics. An effective peptide design template, (WXYX)3, where X represents Arg or Lys and Y represents hydrophobic or neutral amino acid, was summarized with the distribution of Trp at H-bond formation sites along the α-helical structure. The template peptide 6 (3W-2), with low amphipathicity, displayed strong antimicrobial activity against laboratory strains and clinical isolates while showing no cytotoxicity. Furthermore, 6 was able to suppress the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Membrane permeabilization assays and microscope observations revealed the potent membrane-disruptive mechanism of 6. Overall, this study diminishes the randomness in peptide design and provides a strategy for generating effective antibiotic alternatives to overcome antibiotic resistance.

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In this paper, the tuning characteristics of band gaps and waveguides in a locally resonant phononic crystal structure, consisting of multiple square stubs deposited on a thin homogeneous plate, are investigated. Using the finite element method and supercell technique, the dispersion relationships and power transmission spectra of those structures are calculated. In contrast to a system of one square stub, systems of multiple square stubs show wide band gaps at lower frequencies and an increased quantity of band gaps at higher frequencies. The vibration modes of the band gap edges are analyzed to clarify the mechanism of the generation of the lowest band gap. Additionally, the influence of the stubs arrangement on the band gaps in multi-stub systems is investigated. The arrangements of the stubs were found to influence the band gaps; this is critical to understand for practical applications. Based on this finding, a novel method to form defect scatterers by changing the arrangement of square stubs in a multi-stub perfect phononic crystal plate was developed. Defect bands can be induced by creating defects inside the original complete band gaps. The frequency can then be tuned by changing the defect scatterers’ stub arrangement. These results will help in fabricating devices such as acoustic filters and waveguides whose band frequency can be modulated.

Lamb wave band gaps in a homogenous plate with periodic tapered surface