Research interests:

• Antimicrobial peptides
• Modeling of non-equilibrium processes
• Physics of soft matter
• Biophysics
• Simulations of classical systems using the molecular dynamics method and Monte Carlo simulation

Research description:

The rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a serious and growing problem, which if it remains unsolved will result in increased mortality and expenditure by national health systems. It has been attributed, to a large extent, to the overuse and misuse of available antibiotics, but also to the lack of new treatments. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are the first line of defence against infection in all living organisms, may represent part of the solution.
Uncovering the details of the mechanism of action of some AMPs has revealed a staggering level of complexity and sophistication in their mode of actions, as well as in the responses of bacteria to this challenge. Here we investigate AMPs by using molecular dynamics simulations, spectroscopic (e.g. CD, fluorescence) and biophysical measurements (e.g. surface plasmon resonance), in the presence of model membranes, and relate the results to AMPs activity on real membranes in microbial or host cells (e.g. via biological assays to probe cellular integrity and vitality). By simulations and experiments of AMPs in various conditions and environments we i) explore the properties and mode of action of peptides that have been designed or identified in our laboratory as well as well-characterized ranid antimicrobial peptides including also those that are of bacterial origin; ii) investigate AMPs that due to their structure have a strong propensity to form aggregates, and may form liquid droplets as part of their mechanism of action.