Antimicrobial Peptides as Future Therapeutics: Challenges and Possibilities

Antibiotic resistance has evolved as a major global public health threat in the last few decades due to the uncontrolled use of antibiotics in the health and biotechnology sectors, coupled with slower or relatively no production of new antibiotics in the pharmaceutical industry. To prepare and effectively handle any such catastrophic drug-resistant health hazard in the future, recent research has been propelled toward finding new alternatives to conventional antibiotics. In this context, antimicrobial peptides, a multifaceted group of peptide molecules, have garnered much attention as a potential candidate to combat infectious diseases. Even with greater promise in the field of therapeutics development, antimicrobial peptides do have their own challenges and limitations which hinder their successful translation and adaptation in clinical settings. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of AMP research, emphasizing the challenges and possibilities associated with their development as future therapeutics.