Correlation between Membrane Partitioning and Functional Activity in a Single Lipid Vesicle Assay Establishes Design Guidelines for Antiviral Peptides.

The nanometer-scale discrimination of virus-rupturing peptides is tested using lipid membrane platforms. In combination with single-vesicle analysis of peptide-induced vesicle rupture, a correlation between membrane partitioning and biologically relevant activities is established. Taken together, the findings support that the degree of rupture activity should be balanced by membrane curvature-selectivity for optimal therapeutic properties of antiviral peptides.