Synthetic Ion Channels As Novel Antimicrobial Agents

Several families of novel synthetic ion channels have now been developed. They exhibit many, but not all, of the properties of protein ion channels. Some are peptides, but none is naturally occurring. Their ability to insert in membranes and disrupt ion homeostasis confers cellular toxicity upon them. Because these compounds are both abiotic and cytotoxic to a range of microbes, they have been investigated as antibiotics.