Venom-Based Antibiotic Development

Due to the excessive use of antibiotics, the current antimicrobial drug resistance is gradually increasing, and it is becoming more and more ineffective in treating diseases. Therefore, there is a need to develop more effective natural antibacterial agents to treat microbial infections. Antibacterial peptides in animal venom in natural resources have been widely explored. They can target bacteria, fungi, parasites or viruses, and can be used as a rich source of natural antibacterial agents. Creative Proteomics provides services for developing new antimicrobial agents in the venom and screening promising drug candidates against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Introduction of Antimicrobial Peptides in Venom

There are a wide range of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the venom, which are biologically active peptides and serve as an important defense mechanism. They have been proven to be very effective against pathogens and have almost no drug resistance, and can be developed as antibiotics.

• AMPs in snake venom. Crotamine --- target bacteria through membrane permeabilization, L-AAOs --- target bacteria and parasites through enzyme oxidation, PLA₂ --- target bacteria through membrane permeation, etc.
• AMPs in scorpion venom. Defensins --- target bacteria and fungi by causing membrane lysis, Hadrurin --- target bacteria through membrane instability mechanisms, Rhinitis --- target bacteria by destroying the target membrane, etc.
• AMPs in spider venom. Lycotoxins --- target bacteria and fungi by inhibiting growth, Defensins --- target bacteria and fungi, etc.

There are still compounds with antibacterial potential in many venom components. Many studies have proved that the entire venom and a certain component may have antibacterial properties. Our service is dedicated to discovering potential sources of new antibiotics based on the research of venom proteins and peptides.

What Can Creative Proteomics Do

The antimicrobial peptides found in the venom may be an important source of antibiotic drug design. Based on this, we provide discovery services for venom antimicrobial peptides, characterize its properties and test its antimicrobial activity. We hope that our services can help you discover effective toxins that can serve as new antibiotics.

We evaluate the antibacterial effect of the venom fraction by liquid growth inhibition assay, evaluate the hemolytic activity of human red blood cells, use the MTT colorimetric method to evaluate the toxicity of the venom components to the cells, and perform mass spectrometric characterization and sequence analysis of the selected antimicrobial peptides.

Advantages

• Professional venom antimicrobial peptide research platform. It can quickly and easily separate and purify the target venom toxin, and perform analysis and characterization.
• Abundant antibacterial analysis methods. It can comprehensively and accurately test the antibacterial activity of the target antibacterial peptide.
• Advanced high-throughput and bioinformatics technology. It can explore a wide range of venom antimicrobial peptides and their associations on a large scale and accurately.

Creative Proteomics scientists are committed to meeting customer needs for the application of venom antimicrobial peptides in the development of new antibiotics. If you need more detailed information, please feel free to contact us to learn how we can help you achieve the venom research you need.

Reference

• Yacoub T, et al. Antimicrobials from Venomous Animals: An Overview. Molecules, 2020, 25(10):2402.