Pharmacodynamic synergy strictly dependent on the co-operative aggregation of enantiomers of cyclic peptides in the bacterial cell membrane.

The antimicrobial activity of the peptide enantiomers cyclo[D-Tle-D-Lys-D-Tle-L-Ala-D-Tle-L-Ala-D-Tle-L-Ala] and cyclo[L-Tle-L-Lys-L-Tle-D-Ala-L-Tle-D-Ala-L-Tle-D-Ala] against Bacillus megaterium was investigated. Both these peptides showed very low activity in both an agar diffusion assay and a broth microdilution assay. However, when both peptides were present during the experiments a potent inhibition with an IC(50) value of 2 μM was observed.

Self-assembling peptide nanotubes from enantiomeric pairs of cyclic peptides with alternating D and L amino acid residues.

Cyclic peptides with alternating d- and l-amino acid residues containing tert-leucine residues in every second position can form peptide nanotubes only when both enantiomers of the peptide are present in the solution. These results strongly indicate the formation of peptide nanotubes that assemble with one enantiomer in every second position, thereby forming a lamellar structure.