The Use of Tethered Bilayer Lipid Membranes to Identify the Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Peptide Interactions with Lipid Bilayers

Abstract

This review identifies the ways in which tethered bilayer lipid membranes (tBLMs) can be used for the identification of the actions of antimicrobials against lipid bilayers. Much of the new research in this area has originated, or included researchers from, the southern hemisphere, Australia and New Zealand in particular. More and more, tBLMs are replacing liposome release assays, black lipid membranes and patch-clamp electrophysiological techniques because they use fewer reagents, are able to obtain results far more quickly and can provide a uniformity of responses with fewer artefacts. In this work, we describe how tBLM technology can and has been used to identify the actions of numerous antimicrobial agents.

Keywords

• antimicrobial peptides
• tethered bilayer lipid membranes
• electrical impedance spectroscopy