Design and synthesis of short Class L-peptides with high activity against multiresistant bacteria

We have developed a novel class of extremely short peptides with high activity against several pathogenic bacteria, including multiresistant strains. During this project we will further develop and reine these compounds by determining the molecular proper ties of these peptides that contribute to antibacterial activity, toxiciet and metabolic stability. The research tools include asymmetric synthesis of novel amino acids using Schollkopif and Suzuki methodology. These amino acids will be incorporated into peptides which will be studied with regard to biological activity as well as threedimensional structure. From this data set quantitative structure-activity relationships will be determined, which will enable us to further reine these molecules. urthermore we wuld like to explore the concept of in silico screening for a rapid evaluation of a large library of computer generated compounds.