Story thread · 3 reports / 2 sources

Bacteria-killing polymers—a new class of antibiotic?

phys.org · 5h · first reportShare

Swimming in the blood, sweat, cells and tears of every human are small proteins known as peptides. Many peptides can kill bacteria on contact, yet the bacteria never seem to evolve resistance to them. Mass-produced peptides could become a new type of antibiotic that evades resistance, but they are challenging to work with. They are short-lived and expensive to synthesize.