A perspective on general direction and challenges facing antimicrobial peptides

The emergence of drug resistant bacterium threatens the global public healthcare systems. The urgent need to obtain new antimicrobials has driven antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) research into spotlight. Here we give a brief introduction of the recent progress of AMPs regarding their structures, properties, production and modification, and antimicrobial mechanism. Thereby, this review will give an insight into the trends and challenges facing on this particular kind of antimicrobial materials. (C) 2016 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.