Alamethicin, 5 MG

Alamethicin is a linear peptide antibiotic isolated from the fungus Trichoderma viridae. It is linear and consists of 20 amino acid residues. Under proper conditions it can produce action potentials similar to that of nerve axons. Alamethicin is known to exhibit voltage dependent ion channel activity in membrane environments. Alamethicin has a high affinity for lipid bilayers, therefore, alamethicin binds to the surface of lipid bilayers and can be inserted into the membrane.

Alamethicin channels are formed by parallel bundles of the transmembrane helical monomers surrounding a central water-filled pore, and are composed of 3–12 alamethicin molecules. The ion channel activity of alamethicin makes it a suitable model to investigate voltage dependent ion channel proteins. Effective against gram positive bacteria and fungi.