Abstract
Because of the nature of antibiotics to accelerate the development of resistance and overuse of them in daily life, drug resistance has become a huge problem. Increasing numbers of antibiotics are not as effective as before, therefore, doctors and researchers are paying more attention to finding an alternative therapy to replace antibiotics. In this process, antimicrobial peptides which are small compounds with activity against a broad spectrum of microorganisms, have attracted attention. On the other hand, the skin secretions of amphibians are a huge resource of antimicrobial peptides, generally expressing diverse bioactivity.In this thesis, a novel bioactive peptide, QUB-1264, was identified from Odorrana schmackeri by molecular cloning, and it was successfully synthesised by solid phase peptide synthesis. RP-HPLC and MALDI-TOF MS were used to purify and confirm the structure of the target peptide. Finally, it was subjected to a range of biological assays.
QUB-1264 was found to possess selective activity against S.aureus with an MIC value of 128 μM, and an anticancer assay showed that it was active against H157 cancer cells with an IC50 value of 10-7 M. QUB-1264 also showed mild cytotoxicity against red blood cells at these concentrations. In conclusion, QUB-1264 is a novel bioactive peptide with potential clinical value.
Thesis embargoed until 31st October 2024
| Date of Award | Dec 2019 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
|
| Supervisor | Tianbao Chen (Supervisor), Mei Zhou (Supervisor), Lei Wang (Supervisor) & Chengbang Ma (Supervisor) |