Chemical synthesis and characterization of systems containing antimicrobial peptides for application in health

Abstract

Candidiasis is an infection of the human oral and vaginal mucosa caused by the microorganism Candida albicans. The pathogenicity of Candida species is related to the formation of biofilms doing microorganism resistant to conventional drugs and the host immune system. In this case, the most commonly used antifungal agents such as polyene (nystatin and amphotericin B) or azole (itraconazole, miconazole, fluconazole) have no effective action. For this reason, the search for new treatment options and new drugs are the focus mainly in biotechnology. An example is the biologically active peptides and antifungal family of Histatins, including the Histatin-5. This is a peptide naturally found in human saliva, inside the parotid glands, and has as action target mitochondria of Candida albicans cells. However, Histatin-5 suffers action of proteases and other proteins and enzymes can bind to Histatin-5 reducing the antimicrobial effects. The objective of this project is the development and characterization of a liposomal system to promote transport and controlled release of Histatin-5 and some peptides structurally derivate from Histatin-5. Liposomes will be produced by sonication or extrusion and characterized by size distribution and zeta potential, using light scattering. The encapsulation efficiency will be analyzed to compare the different methodologies. In vitro release and microbiological assays will be performed to check the potential of the system. At the end of this project, we intend to obtain a liposomal preparation with potential for application of this novel Antimicrobial Peptides class in the treatment of oral candidiasis. (AU)