Triphenyl phosphonium functionalized amphiphilic peptides as promising antibacterial and anticancer agents

Abstract

Triphenyl phosphonium conjugated amphiphilic peptides are self-assembled into micelles that show potential antimicrobial activity against drug resistant strains. Moreover, these peptides destroy ovarian cancer cells through mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation while maintaining cytocompatibility with HEK 293 (non-cancerous) cells, indicating the emergence of biomaterials with anticancer and antimicrobial activities.