Background

Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, a large range of antibiotics have been successfully developed to combat a wide variety of infections. However, resistance to these antibiotics is increasing at a remarkable rate and is becoming a serious problem, with drug resistant strains of previously treatable illnesses on the rise. Current structural classes of antibiotic compounds are becoming redundant and it is widely agreed that there is a desperate need to design, make and test new antibiotic compounds.

Peptide drugs have shown considerable promise as medicines, and investment in this area by the pharmaceutical industry continues to increase. Areas of significant interest lie in the use of stabilised or stapled α-helices, (multi)cyclic peptides and peptidomimetics, which include ‘peptoids’.