Short Synthetic α-Helical-Forming Peptide Amphiphiles for Fungal Keratitis Treatment In Vivo

The emergence of fungal keratitis is on the rise globally. However, current antifungal therapeutics are ineffective in severe keratomycosis. Previously reported α-helical peptides comprising 8–14 amino acids demonstrate broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity both in vitro and in vivo. Here, α-helical peptides of the optimized sequences are investigated for antifungal biofilm in vitro and in vivo using a fungal biofilm-caused mouse keratitis model. The peptides with the optimal composition demonstrate higher α-helical propensity and improve antifungal activity in dispersing Candida albicans biofilm in vitro. Moreover, the optimized α-helical peptides are not only effective in treating C. albicans biofilm-induced keratitis in mice, they are also nontoxic to the mice eyes. These peptides have the potential to be developed as antifungal agents for the treatment of C. albicans biofilm-caused keratitis.