Bacterial acidity-triggered antimicrobial activity of self-assembling peptide nanofibers

Abstract

A self-assembling peptide nanofiber was developed to sense the microenvironmental pH change associated with bacterial growth. Using a near-infrared probe, a strong correlation was observed between the local pH reduction of bacterial colonies with the degree of peptide disassembly, which led to their enhanced antimicrobial activity against anaerobic bacteria.