Fig. 6: The proposed mechanism for the filtering effect of the bacterial cell wall.
From: Chemically diverse antimicrobial peptides induce hyperpolarization of the E. coli membrane
AMPs with membrane-induced bioactive structure and limited hydrophobicity can escape the membrane interior and diffuse across the pores of the bacterial cell wall. When reaching the cytoplasmic membrane, diffusion potential generation becomes possible (a). Folded structures with dominantly hydrophobic side chains display limited diffusion across the cell wall, effectively decreasing the AMP’s ionophore activity at the cytoplasmic membrane (b). (Created with BioRender.com).
