Antimicrobial Peptides

Classical antibiotics are usually small-molecule compounds — many derived from microbial secondary metabolites — that act on specific bacterial targets such as cell wall synthesis, ribosomes, or DNA replication. Antimicrobial peptides, by contrast, are short amino acid chains produced as part of the innate immune response, and their primary research-studied mechanism typically involves direct interaction with microbial membranes rather than a single enzymatic target.

Because AMPs often act on membrane structure rather than one discrete protein, they have been of research interest in the context of membrane biophysics and resistance evolution. This makes them a distinct class of study from conventional antibiotics, even when the two are sometimes grouped together in broader antimicrobial research literature.

Antimicrobial peptides are found across essentially every branch of life. In mammals, well-studied examples include cathelicidins (such as LL-37) and defensins, which are expressed in skin, mucosal surfaces, neutrophils, and epithelial tissues. In amphibians, insects, and plants, AMPs form a major part of innate immunity and are secreted in skin, hemolymph, seeds, and other tissues.

This broad distribution across kingdoms is one reason AMPs are a significant subject of biological research — they represent a conserved, ancient strategy for host defense. Function Dose supplies synthetic AMP reference compounds for in vitro research use only.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short, naturally occurring chains of amino acids that act as part of the innate immune defense in virtually all living organisms — from bacteria and plants to insects, amphibians, and mammals. They are typically between 10 and 50 amino acids long and often carry a net positive charge, which allows them to interact with negatively charged microbial membranes.

In research, AMPs are studied as a broad and evolutionarily ancient class of host defense molecules. They are investigated in the context of innate immunity, membrane biology, structure–activity relationships, and microbial resistance. All AMPs offered by Function Dose are intended strictly for in vitro laboratory research and are not drugs, supplements, or therapeutics.