A novel dodecapeptide from a combinatorial synthetic library exhibits potent antifungal activity and synergy with standard antimycotic agents

There has been a marked expansion in the discovery of new antifungal peptides. This paper describes a novel dodecapeptide, H-Arg-Trp-Trp-Arg-D-Trp-D-Phe-Ile-D-Phe-His-Trp-Arg-Trp-NH2, derived from a previously described nonapeptide and synthesized by the combinatorial approach. Further, interaction of this peptide with antifungals such as amphotericin B, flucytosine and fluconazole was studied by checkerboard analysis and time-kill assay to obtain the dynamic picture with respect to time. The best synergistic activity was observed with a combination of peptide and fluconazole, followed by peptide and flucytosine.