Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and their mimics are emerging as promising antibiotic agents. We present a library of ''ampetoids'' (antimicrobial peptoid oligomers) with helical structures and biomimetic sequences, several members of which have low-micromolar antimicrobial activities, similar to cationic AMPs like pexiganan. Broad-spectrum activity against six clinically relevant BSL2 pathogens is also shown. This comprehensive structure-activity relationship study, including circular dichroism spectroscopy, minimum inhibitory concentration assays, hemolysis and mammalian cell toxicity studies, and specular x-ray reflectivity measurements shows that the in vitro activities of ampetoids are strikingly similar to those of AMPs themselves, suggesting a strong mechanistic analogy. The ampetoids' antibacterial activity, coupled with their low cytotoxicity against mammalian cells, make them a promising class of antimicrobials for biomedical applications. Peptoids are biostable, with a protease-resistant N-substituted glycine backbone, and their sequences are highly tunable, because an extensive diversity of side chains can be incorporated via facile solid-phase synthesis. Our findings add to the growing evidence that nonnatural foldamers will emerge as an important class of therapeutics.antibiotics ͉ peptidomimetics ͉ structure-activity studies N atural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) defend a wide array of organisms against bacterial pathogens and show potential as supplements for or replacements of conventional antibiotics, because few bacteria have evolved resistance to them (1-3). Many AMPs kill bacteria by permeabilization of the cytoplasmic membrane, causing depolarization, leakage, and death (4), whereas others target additional anionic bacterial constituents (e.g., DNA, RNA, or cell wall components) (2, 5). Amphipathic secondary structures in which residues are segregated into hydrophobic and cationic regions ( Fig. 1 A and B) are the hallmark of most AMPs (6). Regardless of their final target of killing, AMPs must interact with the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane, and their amphipathicity is integral to such interactions (1, 2, 7). Additionally, their cationic nature imparts AMPs with some measure of selectivity, because mammalian cell membranes are largely zwitterionic. The precise nature of AMP-membrane interactions remains controversial and actively debated; a variety of mechanisms have been proposed, including the carpet (4), barrel-stave pore (4), toroidal pore (8), and aggregate (9) models. Nevertheless, a considerable number of structure-activity investigations have elucidated how the physicochemical properties of these molecules relate to their biological activities (4,7,(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22).Although AMPs have been actively studied for decades (23-25), they have yet to see widespread clinical use (1). This is due in part to the vulnerability of many peptide therapeutics to rapid in vivo degradation, which dramatically reduces their bioavailability. Nonnatural mimics of AMPs...

The resistance of biofilms to conventional antibiotics complicates the treatment of chronic cystic fibrosis (CF). We investigated the effects of peptoids, peptides, and conventional antibiotics on the biomass and cell viability within Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. At their MICs, peptoids 1 and 1-C13 4mer caused maximum reductions in biomass and cell viability, respectively. These results suggest that peptoids of this class could be worth exploring for the treatment of pulmonary infections occurring in CF patients.

Bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics is a global threat that has spurred the development of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and their mimetics as novel anti-infective agents. While the bioavailability of AMPs is often reduced due to protease activity, the non-natural structure of AMP mimetics renders them robust to proteolytic degradation, thus offering a distinct advantage for their clinical application. We explore the therapeutic potential of N-substituted glycines, or peptoids, as AMP mimics using a multi-faceted approach that includes in silico, in vitro, and in vivo techniques. We report a new QSAR model that we developed based on 27 diverse peptoid sequences, which accurately correlates antimicrobial peptoid structure with antimicrobial activity. We have identified a number of peptoids that have potent, broad-spectrum in vitro activity against multi-drug resistant bacterial strains. Lastly, using a murine model of invasive S. aureus infection, we demonstrate that one of the best candidate peptoids at 4 mg/kg significantly reduces with a two-log order the bacterial counts compared with saline-treated controls. Taken together, our results demonstrate the promising therapeutic potential of peptoids as antimicrobial agents.

Cationic, amphipathic host defense peptides represent a promising group of agents to be developed for anticancer applications. Poly-N-substituted glycines, or peptoids, are a class of biostable, peptidomimetic scaffold that can display a great diversity of side chains in highly tunable sequences via facile solid-phase synthesis. Herein, we present a library of anti-proliferative peptoids that mimics the cationic, amphipathic structural feature of the host defense peptides and explore the relationships between the structure, anticancer activity and selectivity of these peptoids. Several peptoids are found to be potent against a broad range of cancer cell lines at low-micromolar concentrations including cancer cells with multidrug resistance (MDR), causing cytotoxicity in a concentration-dependent manner. They can penetrate into cells, but their cytotoxicity primarily involves plasma membrane perturbations. Furthermore, peptoid 1, the most potent peptoid synthesized, significantly inhibited tumor growth in a human breast cancer xenotransplantation model without any noticeable acute adverse effects in mice. Taken together, our work provided important structural information for designing host defense peptides or their mimics for anticancer applications. Several cationic, amphipathic peptoids are very attractive for further development due to their high solubility, stability against protease degradation, their broad, potent cytotoxicity against cancer cells and their ability to overcome multidrug resistance.

Non-natural oligomers have recently shown promise as functional analogues of lung surfactant proteins B and C (SP-B and SP-C), two helical and amphiphilic proteins that are critical for normal respiration. The generation of non-natural mimics of SP-B and SP-C has previously been restricted to step-by-step, sequence-specific synthesis, which results in discrete oligomers that are intended to manifest specific structural attributes. Here we present an alternative approach to SP-B mimicry that is based on sequence-random copolymers containing cationic and lipophilic subunits. These materials, members of the nylon-3 family, are prepared by ring-opening polymerization of β-lactams. The best of the nylon-3 polymers display promising in vitro surfactant activities in a mixed lipid film. Pulsating bubble surfactometry data indicate that films containing the most surface-active polymers attain adsorptive and dynamic-cycling properties that surpass those of discrete peptides intended to mimic SP-B. Attachment of an N-terminal octadecanoyl unit to the nylon-3 copolymers – inspired by the post-translational modifications found in SP-C – affords further improvements by reducing the percent surface area compression to reach low minimum surface tension. Cytotoxic effects of the copolymers are diminished relative to that of an SP-B-derived peptide and a peptoid-based mimic. The current study provides evidence that sequence-random copolymers can mimic the in vitro surface-active behavior of lung surfactant proteins in a mixed lipid film. These findings raise the possibility that random copolymers might be useful for developing a lung surfactant replacement, which is an attractive prospect given that such polymers are easier to prepare than are sequence-specific oligomers.

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Acute lung injury (ALI) leads to progressive loss of breathing capacity and hypoxemia, as well as pulmonary surfactant dysfunction. ALI’s pathogenesis and management are complex, and it is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Exogenous surfactant therapy, even for research purposes, is impractical for adults because of the high cost of current surfactant preparations. Prior in vitro work has shown that poly-N-substituted glycines (peptoids), in a biomimetic lipid mixture, emulate key biophysical activities of lung surfactant proteins B and C at the air-water interface. Here we report good in vivo efficacy of a peptoid-based surfactant, compared with extracted animal surfactant and a synthetic lipid formulation, in a rat model of lavage-induced ALI. Adult rats were subjected to whole-lung lavage followed by administration of surfactant formulations and monitoring of outcomes. Treatment with a surfactant protein C mimic formulation improved blood oxygenation, blood pH, shunt fraction, and peak inspiratory pressure to a greater degree than surfactant protein B mimic or combined formulations. All peptoid-enhanced treatment groups showed improved outcomes compared to synthetic lipids alone, and some formulations improved outcomes to a similar extent as animal-derived surfactant. Robust biophysical mimics of natural surfactant proteins may enable new medical research in ALI treatment.

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