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. 2020 Jul 7;10:326. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00326

Table 2.

Factors influencing antimicrobial activity of AMP.

In vitro Ex vivo In vivo
pH and ionic strength Biological matrices (e.g., blood) Animal models of infection
Temperature Mammalian cells Pharmacokinetics
Medium type/composition Intracellular pathogens Pharmacodynamics
Nutrient concentrations Air:Liquid or Solid:liquid interface Metabolic interactions
Buffer Infection models Polypharmacy (drug- drug interactions)
Bicarbonate Formulation and delivery
Metal ions Polymicrobial infections
Salt (NaCl)
Polysorbate-80
Synergy/Antagonism with other antimicrobials
Inoculum size
Growth Phase (e.g., biofilms, persisters, spores, small colony variants, and other phenotypic variants)
Charge effects
Solubility
Laboratory materials
Proteolysis
Biological macromolecules (e.g., protein, DNA)
Oxygen (hyper-, norm- and hypoxia)
Mono/Polymicrobial interactions

In the context of this manuscript, ex vivo refers to experiment parameters that are not in a living host organism (out of the living), but are simulating in vivo conditions. In vivo refers to experiments conducted in/on a living host organism.