{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,25]],"date-time":"2026-10-25T03:41:50Z","timestamp":1792899710469,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":80,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,9]],"date-time":"2020-06-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1591660800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)","award":["PTDC\/CTM-TEX\/28074\/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028074)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PTDC\/CTM-TEX\/28074\/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028074)"]}]},{"name":"Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)","award":["PTDC\/CTM-TEX\/28295\/2017"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PTDC\/CTM-TEX\/28295\/2017"]}]},{"name":"Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)","award":["UID\/CTM\/00264\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UID\/CTM\/00264\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The increased resistance of bacteria against conventional pharmaceutical solutions, the antibiotics, has raised serious health concerns. This has stimulated interest in the development of bio-based therapeutics with limited resistance, namely, essential oils (EOs) or antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). This study envisaged the evaluation of the antimicrobial efficacy of selected biomolecules, namely LL37, pexiganan, tea tree oil (TTO), cinnamon leaf oil (CLO) and niaouli oil (NO), against four bacteria commonly associated to nosocomial infections: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antibiotic vancomycin and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were used as control compounds for comparison purposes. The biomolecules were initially screened for their antibacterial efficacy using the agar-diffusion test, followed by the determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs), kill-time kinetics and the evaluation of the cell morphology upon 24 h exposure. All agents were effective against the selected bacteria. Interestingly, the AgNPs required a higher concentration (4000\u20131250 \u03bcg\/mL) to induce the same effects as the AMPs (500\u20137.8 \u03bcg\/mL) or EOs (365.2\u201319.7 \u03bcg\/mL). Pexiganan and CLO were the most effective biomolecules, requiring lower concentrations to kill both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (62.5\u20137.8 \u03bcg\/mL and 39.3\u201319.7 \u03bcg\/mL, respectively), within a short period of time (averaging 2 h 15 min for all bacteria). Most biomolecules apparently disrupted the bacteria membrane stability due to the observed cell morphology deformation and by effecting on the intracellular space. AMPs were observed to induce morphological deformations and cellular content release, while EOs were seen to split and completely envelope bacteria. Data unraveled more of the potential of these new biomolecules as replacements for the conventional antibiotics and allowed us to take a step forward in the understanding of their mechanisms of action against infection-related bacteria.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics9060314","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,9]],"date-time":"2020-06-09T08:49:11Z","timestamp":1591692551000},"page":"314","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":263,"title":["Activity of Specialized Biomolecules against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2994-6767","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"T\u00e2nia D.","family":"Tavares","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), Department of Textile Engineering, University of Minho, Campus of Azur\u00e9m, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2036-2730","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joana C.","family":"Antunes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), Department of Textile Engineering, University of Minho, Campus of Azur\u00e9m, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5630-6621","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jorge","family":"Padr\u00e3o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), Department of Textile Engineering, University of Minho, Campus of Azur\u00e9m, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9556-6311","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana I.","family":"Ribeiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), Department of Textile Engineering, University of Minho, Campus of Azur\u00e9m, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5299-4164","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Zille","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), Department of Textile Engineering, University of Minho, Campus of Azur\u00e9m, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M. Teresa P.","family":"Amorim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), Department of Textile Engineering, University of Minho, Campus of Azur\u00e9m, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fernando","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), Department of Textile Engineering, University of Minho, Campus of Azur\u00e9m, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4354-0256","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Helena P.","family":"Felgueiras","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), Department of Textile Engineering, University of Minho, Campus of Azur\u00e9m, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"980","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbamem.2015.10.018","article-title":"Molecular mechanisms of membrane targeting antibiotics","volume":"1858","author":"Epand","year":"2016","journal-title":"Biochim. Biophys. Acta"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Murray, P.R., Baron, E.J., Pfaller, M.A., Tenover, F.C., and Yolken, R.H. (1998). Mechanisms of Resistance to Antimicrobial Agents. Manual of Clinical Microbiology, American Society for Microbiology."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"580","DOI":"10.1039\/b900278m","article-title":"Domains in bacterial membranes and the action of antimicrobial agents","volume":"5","author":"Epand","year":"2009","journal-title":"Mol. Biosyst."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"586","DOI":"10.1039\/C5MD00503E","article-title":"Bacterial lipid membranes as promising targets to fight antimicrobial resistance, molecular foundations and illustration through the renewal of aminoglycoside antibiotics and emergence of amphiphilic aminoglycosides","volume":"7","year":"2016","journal-title":"Med. Chem. Comm."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2745","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jmedchem.6b01530","article-title":"Amphiphilic indole derivatives as antimycobacterial agents: Structure\u2013activity relationships and membrane targeting properties","volume":"60","author":"Yang","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Med. Chem."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1811","DOI":"10.1016\/j.peptides.2010.06.021","article-title":"Interaction of cationic antimicrobial peptides with phospholipid vesicles and their antibacterial activity","volume":"31","author":"Chou","year":"2010","journal-title":"Peptides"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ayaz, M., Ullah, F., Sadiq, A., Ullah, F., Ovais, M., Ahmed, J., and Devkota, H.P. (2019). Synergistic interactions of phytochemicals with antimicrobial agents: Potential strategy to counteract drug resistance. Chem. Biol. Interact.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cbi.2019.05.050"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.3109\/1040841X.2013.763219","article-title":"Synergy between essential oil components and antibiotics: A review","volume":"40","author":"Langeveld","year":"2014","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ju, J., Chen, X., Xie, Y., Yu, H., Guo, Y., Cheng, Y., Qian, H., and Yao, W. (2019). Application of essential oil as a sustained release preparation in food packaging. Trends Food Sci. Technol.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tifs.2019.08.005"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Miranda, C.S., Ribeiro, A.R.M., Homem, N.C., and Felgueiras, H.P. (2020). Spun Biotextiles in Tissue Engineering and Biomolecules Delivery Systems. Antibiotics, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics9040174"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1551","DOI":"10.1038\/nbt1267","article-title":"Antimicrobial and host-defense peptides as new anti-infective therapeutic strategies","volume":"24","author":"Hancock","year":"2006","journal-title":"Nat. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.1016\/j.colsurfb.2017.05.001","article-title":"Functionalization of electrospun polymeric wound dressings with antimicrobial peptides","volume":"156","author":"Felgueiras","year":"2017","journal-title":"Colloids Surf. B Biointerfaces"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1801390","DOI":"10.1002\/admi.201801390","article-title":"Cecropin\u2014Melittin Functionalized Polyurethane Surfaces Prevent Staphylococcus epidermidis Adhesion without Inducing Platelet Adhesion and Activation","volume":"5","author":"Querido","year":"2018","journal-title":"Adv. Mater. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"48626","DOI":"10.1002\/app.48626","article-title":"Antimicrobial action and clotting time of thin, hydrated poly (vinyl alcohol)\/cellulose acetate films functionalized with LL37 for prospective wound-healing applications","volume":"137","author":"Felgueiras","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Appl. Polym. Sci."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e02652","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2019.e02652","article-title":"Performance evaluation of antimicrobial peptide ll-37 and hepcidin and \u03b2-defensin-2 secreted by mesenchymal stem cells","volume":"5","author":"Esfandiyari","year":"2019","journal-title":"Heliyon"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1007\/s00005-009-0057-2","article-title":"Cathelicidin LL-37: A Multitask Antimicrobial Peptide","volume":"58","author":"Bucki","year":"2010","journal-title":"Arch. Immunol. Ther. Exp."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"782","DOI":"10.1128\/AAC.43.4.782","article-title":"In Vitro Antibacterial Properties of Pexiganan, an Analog of Magainin","volume":"43","author":"Ge","year":"1999","journal-title":"Antimicrob. Agents Chemother."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1139","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbamem.2015.02.001","article-title":"Antimicrobial properties of membrane-active dodecapeptides derived from MSI-78","volume":"1848","author":"Monteiro","year":"2015","journal-title":"Biochim. Biophys. Acta"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tavares, T.D., Antunes, J.C., Ferreira, F., and Felgueiras, H.P. (2020). Biofunctionalization of Natural Fiber-Reinforced Biocomposites for Biomedical Applications. Biomolecules, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/biom10010148"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Man, A., Santacroce, L., Iacob, R., Mare, A., and Man, L. (2019). Antimicrobial activity of six essential oils against a group of human pathogens: A comparative study. Pathogens, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens8010015"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Swamy, M.K., Akhtar, M.S., and Sinniah, U.R. (2016). Antimicrobial properties of plant essential oils against human pathogens and their mode of action: An updated review. Evid.-Based Complement. Altern. Med.","DOI":"10.1155\/2016\/3012462"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"813","DOI":"10.2174\/0929867033457719","article-title":"Antibacterial and antifungal properties of essential oils","volume":"10","author":"Kalemba","year":"2003","journal-title":"Curr. Med. Chem."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fitote.2016.05.016","article-title":"Cinnamaldehyde and its derivatives, a novel class of antifungal agents","volume":"112","author":"Shreaz","year":"2016","journal-title":"Fitoterapia"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"302","DOI":"10.1080\/00405000.2018.1477237","article-title":"Antibacterial PVP\/cinnamon essential oil nanofibers by emulsion electrospinning","volume":"110","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Text. Inst."},{"key":"ref_25","first-page":"115","article-title":"Antiradical, Antibacterial and Oxidative Stability of Cinnamon Leaf Oil Encapsulated in \u03b2-cyclodextrin","volume":"8","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Med. Plants By-Prod."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"50","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.19.1.50-62.2006","article-title":"Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil: A review of antimicrobial and other medicinal properties","volume":"19","author":"Carson","year":"2006","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Silveira, M.P., Silva, H.C., Pimentel, I.C.l., Poitevin, C.G., da Costa Stuart, A.K., Carpin\u00e9, D., de Matos Jorge, L.M., and Jorge, R.M.M. (2019). Development of active cassava starch cellulose nanofiber-based films incorporated with natural antimicrobial tea tree essential oil. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 48726.","DOI":"10.1002\/app.48726"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"651","DOI":"10.5424\/sjar\/2010083-1261","article-title":"In vitro antibacterial effect of exotic plants essential oils on the honeybee pathogen Paenibacillus larvae, causal agent of American foulbrood","volume":"8","author":"Fuselli","year":"2010","journal-title":"Span. J. Agric. Res."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"457","DOI":"10.1016\/S0305-1978(01)00112-0","article-title":"Chemical variation in the leaf essential oil of Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) ST Blake","volume":"30","author":"Ireland","year":"2002","journal-title":"Biochem. Syst. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jevs.2015.11.011","article-title":"Essential oils in the control of infections by Staphylococcus xylosus in horses","volume":"38","author":"Huerta","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Equine Vet. Sci."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1080\/10412905.2001.9699625","article-title":"Death kinetics of Staphylococcus aureus exposed to commercial tea tree oils sl","volume":"13","author":"Christoph","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Essent. Oil Res."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1038\/nprot.2007.521","article-title":"Agar and broth dilution methods to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of antimicrobial substances","volume":"3","author":"Wiegand","year":"2008","journal-title":"Nat. Protoc."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"European Committee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) (2003). Determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antibacterial agents by broth dilution. Clin. Microbiol. Infect., 9, ix\u2013xv.","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1469-0691.2003.00790.x"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"126","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodhyd.2016.02.019","article-title":"Bacterial cellulose-lactoferrin as an antimicrobial edible packaging","volume":"58","author":"Padrao","year":"2016","journal-title":"Food Hydrocoll."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"681","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2007.07.007","article-title":"Antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of Thymus vulgaris, Thymus zygis and Thymus hyemalis essential oils","volume":"19","author":"Rota","year":"2008","journal-title":"Food Control"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3057","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodres.2011.07.030","article-title":"In vitro antimicrobial effects and mechanism of action of selected plant essential oil combinations against four food-related microorganisms","volume":"44","author":"Lv","year":"2011","journal-title":"Food Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"62","DOI":"10.1007\/s11051-018-4152-3","article-title":"Can disc diffusion susceptibility tests assess the antimicrobial activity of engineered nanoparticles?","volume":"20","author":"Kourmouli","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Nanopart. Res."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1678","DOI":"10.1038\/srep01678","article-title":"Lipid-II forms potential \u201clanding terrain\u201d for lantibiotics in simulated bacterial membrane","volume":"3","author":"Chugunov","year":"2013","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S5","DOI":"10.1086\/491709","article-title":"Vancomycin: A History","volume":"42","author":"Levine","year":"2006","journal-title":"Clin. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jare.2019.10.005","article-title":"Vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections: A review of case updating and clinical features","volume":"21","author":"Cong","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Adv. Res."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12144","DOI":"10.1021\/ja2039979","article-title":"Unraveling the Protein Targets of Vancomycin in Living, S. aureus and E. faecalis Cells","volume":"133","author":"Eirich","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1093\/jac\/14.suppl_D.7","article-title":"Mode of action and in-vitro activity of vancomycin","volume":"14","author":"Watanakunakorn","year":"1984","journal-title":"J. Antimicrob. Chemother."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"906","DOI":"10.1590\/S1517-83822009000400023","article-title":"Isolation, purification and evaluation of antibacterial agents from Aloe vera","volume":"40","author":"Lawrence","year":"2009","journal-title":"Braz. J. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33107","DOI":"10.1021\/acsami.7b09068","article-title":"Antibacterial electrospun poly (vinyl alcohol)\/enzymatic synthesized poly (catechol) nanofibrous midlayer membrane for ultrafiltration","volume":"9","author":"Coelho","year":"2017","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Sci. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Felgueiras, H.P., Teixeira, M.A., Tavares, T.D., and Amorim, M.T.P. (2020). New method to produce poly (vinyl alcohol)\/cellulose acetate films with improved antibacterial action. Mater. Today Proc.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matpr.2019.12.100"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"418","DOI":"10.1074\/jbc.M111.290361","article-title":"Outer membrane lipoprotein Lpp is Gram-negative bacterial cell surface receptor for cationic antimicrobial peptides","volume":"287","author":"Chang","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Biol. Chem."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2004.03.022","article-title":"Essential oils: Their antibacterial properties and potential applications in foods\u2014A review","volume":"94","author":"Burt","year":"2004","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.4038\/jnsfsr.v29i3-4.2613","article-title":"A comparison of essential oil constituents of bark, leaf, root and fruit of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blum) grown in Sri Lanka","volume":"29","author":"Paranagama","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Natl. Sci. Found. Sri Lanka"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"657","DOI":"10.1080\/10412905.1992.9698155","article-title":"Chemical composition of niaouli essential oils from Madagascar","volume":"4","author":"Ramanoelina","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Essent. Oil Res."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1451","DOI":"10.3390\/ph6121451","article-title":"Effect of essential oils on pathogenic bacteria","volume":"6","author":"Nazzaro","year":"2013","journal-title":"Pharmaceuticals"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1914","DOI":"10.1128\/AAC.46.6.1914-1920.2002","article-title":"Mechanism of Action of Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree) Oil on Staphylococcus aureus Determined by Time-Kill, Lysis, Leakage, and Salt Tolerance Assays and Electron Microscopy","volume":"46","author":"Carson","year":"2002","journal-title":"Antimicrob. Agents Chemother."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.3797\/scipharm.aut-05-03","article-title":"Antimicrobial testinas and gas chromatoaraphic analvsis of pure oxvaenated monoterpenes 1.8-cineole, \u03b1-terpineol, terpinen-4-ol and camphor as well as target comoounds in essential oils of pine (Pinus pinaster), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia)","volume":"73","author":"Jirovetz","year":"2005","journal-title":"Sci. Pharm."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1186\/s12951-017-0308-z","article-title":"Metal nanoparticles: Understanding the mechanisms behind antibacterial activity","volume":"15","author":"Slavin","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Nanobiotechnol."},{"key":"ref_54","unstructured":"Grumezescu, A.M. (2016). Chapter 9-Scopes of Green Synthesized Metal and Metal Oxide Nanomaterials in Antimicrobial Therapy. Nanobiomaterials in Antimicrobial Therapy, William Andrew Publishing."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"225103","DOI":"10.1088\/0957-4484\/18\/22\/225103","article-title":"Characterization of enhanced antibacterial effects of novel silver nanoparticles","volume":"18","author":"Shrivastava","year":"2007","journal-title":"Nanotechnology"},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"546","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbamem.2015.11.003","article-title":"The human cathelicidin LL-37\u2014A pore-forming antibacterial peptide and host-cell modulator","volume":"1858","author":"Xhindoli","year":"2016","journal-title":"Biochim. Biophys. Acta"},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1042\/BJ20042138","article-title":"Controlled alteration of the shape and conformational stability of alpha-helical cell-lytic peptides: Effect on mode of action and cell specificity","volume":"390","author":"Zelezetsky","year":"2005","journal-title":"Biochem. J."},{"key":"ref_58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19861","DOI":"10.1074\/jbc.M511108200","article-title":"Evolution of the Primate Cathelicidin Correlation between Structural Variations and Antimicrobial Activity","volume":"281","author":"Zelezetsky","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Biol. Chem."},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5449","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.84.15.5449","article-title":"Magainins, a class of antimicrobial peptides from Xenopus skin: Isolation, characterization of two active forms, and partial cDNA sequence of a precursor","volume":"84","author":"Zasloff","year":"1987","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chouhan, S., Sharma, K., and Guleria, S. (2017). Antimicrobial Activity of Some Essential Oils-Present Status and Future Perspectives. Medicines, 4.","DOI":"10.3390\/medicines4030058"},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1093\/oxfordjournals.jbchem.a132106","article-title":"Separation and characterization of the outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa","volume":"84","author":"Mizuno","year":"1978","journal-title":"J. Biochem."},{"key":"ref_62","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"639","DOI":"10.1093\/jac\/45.5.639","article-title":"Time\u2013kill studies of tea tree oils on clinical isolates","volume":"45","author":"May","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Antimicrob. Chemother."},{"key":"ref_63","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"363","DOI":"10.1080\/10412905.2012.692907","article-title":"Bactericidal effects and time\u2013kill studies of the essential oil from the fruits of Zanthoxylum limonella on multi-drug resistant bacteria","volume":"24","author":"Tangjitjaroenkun","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Essent. Oil Res."},{"key":"ref_64","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"345","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1574-6976.2007.00098.x","article-title":"The different shapes of cocci","volume":"32","author":"Zapun","year":"2008","journal-title":"FEMS Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_65","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1111\/apm.1966.67.1.149","article-title":"Investigations on animal Staphylococcus aureus strains. 1. Biochemical characteristics and phage typing","volume":"67","author":"Marandon","year":"1966","journal-title":"Acta Pathol. Microbiol. Scand."},{"key":"ref_66","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1128\/MMBR.62.1.110-129.1998","article-title":"Morphogenesis of Escherichia coli","volume":"62","author":"Nanninga","year":"1998","journal-title":"Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_67","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1128\/jb.172.1.94-101.1990","article-title":"Cell volume increase in Escherichia coli after shifts to richer media","volume":"172","author":"Kubitschek","year":"1990","journal-title":"J. Bacteriol."},{"key":"ref_68","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4809","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.71.8.4809-4821.2005","article-title":"Characterization of Colony Morphology Variants Isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms","volume":"71","author":"Kirisits","year":"2005","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_69","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcis.2004.02.012","article-title":"Silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agent: A case study on E. coli as a model for Gram-negative bacteria","volume":"275","author":"Sondi","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Colloid Interface Sci."},{"key":"ref_70","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biocel.2018.09.006","article-title":"Biosynthesized silver nanoparticles: Decoding their mechanism of action in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli","volume":"104","author":"Quinteros","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol."},{"key":"ref_71","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3311","DOI":"10.2147\/IJN.S165125","article-title":"Potential antibacterial mechanism of silver nanoparticles and the optimization of orthopedic implants by advanced modification technologies","volume":"13","author":"Qing","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int. J. Nanomed."},{"key":"ref_72","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1283","DOI":"10.1128\/AAC.01650-12","article-title":"Cationic Antimicrobial Peptide LL-37 Is Effective Against Both Extra- And Intracellular Staphylococcus Aureus","volume":"57","author":"Noore","year":"2013","journal-title":"Antimicrob. Agents Chemother."},{"key":"ref_73","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"971","DOI":"10.1038\/s41429-018-0090-7","article-title":"Evaluation of LL-37 antimicrobial peptide derivatives alone and in combination with vancomycin against S. aureus","volume":"71","author":"Shurko","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Antibiot."},{"key":"ref_74","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"E77","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1101130108","article-title":"Real-time attack on single Escherichia coli cells by the human antimicrobial peptide LL-37","volume":"108","author":"Sochacki","year":"2011","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_75","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1680","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbamem.2008.10.009","article-title":"Structure, membrane orientation, mechanism, and function of pexiganan\u2014A highly potent antimicrobial peptide designed from magainin","volume":"1788","author":"Gottler","year":"2009","journal-title":"Biochim. Biophys. Acta"},{"key":"ref_76","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kumar, P., Kizhakkedathu, J.N., and Straus, S.K. (2018). Antimicrobial Peptides: Diversity, Mechanism of Action and Strategies to Improve the Activity and Biocompatibility In Vivo. Biomolecules, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/biom8010004"},{"key":"ref_77","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1080\/21505594.2016.1213475","article-title":"Activity of antimicrobial peptides, alone or combined with conventional antibiotics, against Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the airways of cystic fibrosis patients","volume":"8","author":"Garbacz","year":"2017","journal-title":"Virulence"},{"key":"ref_78","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"418","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(97)80051-7","article-title":"Peptide antibiotics","volume":"349","author":"Hancock","year":"1997","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_79","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"389","DOI":"10.1038\/415389a","article-title":"Antimicrobial peptides of multicellular organisms","volume":"415","author":"Zasloff","year":"2002","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_80","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1323","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2958.1992.tb00853.x","article-title":"Outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria are permeable to steroid probes","volume":"6","author":"Nikaido","year":"1992","journal-title":"Mol. Microbiol."}],"container-title":["Antibiotics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-6382\/9\/6\/314\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T09:37:05Z","timestamp":1760175425000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-6382\/9\/6\/314"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,9]]},"references-count":80,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,6]]}},"alternative-id":["antibiotics9060314"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/antibiotics9060314","relation":{},"ISSN":["2079-6382"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2079-6382","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,9]]}}}