Scientists have discovered a class of agents, in the fight against "superbugs," that can make some of the most notorious strains vulnerable to the same antibiotics that they once handily shrugged off.
The report on the promising agents called metallopolymers appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Enzyme 'Wrench': Key to Stronger, More Effective Antibiotics
Precision and specialized tools are necessary to get a job done right, believe builders and factory workers.
Advertisement
Chuanbing Tang and colleagues note that the antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is responsible for a significant fraction of the infections that patients acquire in hospitals. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MRSA usually spreads in hospitals when a health care provider with contaminated hands unknowingly passes it along to a patient. It can cause serious problems such as pneumonia, and can lead to death. One of the ways MRSA undermines conventional treatments is by producing enzymes that inactivate traditional antibiotics such as penicillin. Scientists have been developing new agents to combat these enzymes, but the agents so far have fallen short. Tang's team wanted to find a better alternative.
They tested a recently discovered class of metallopolymers — large, metal-containing molecules — against several strains of MRSA. When paired with the same antibiotics MRSA normally dispatches with ease, the polymer/antibiotic combo evaded the bacteria's defensive enzymes and destroyed its protective walls, causing the bacteria to burst. Also, the metallopolymers mostly left red blood cells alone, which suggests they might have minimal side effects. "These discoveries could pave a new platform to design antibiotics and antimicrobial agents to battle multidrug-resistant bacteria and superbugs," the researchers state.
Source: Eurekalert
Source: Eurekalert
Researchers Zero in on Antibiotic Resistance Enzyme
New biochemistry research indicates that resistance to an entire class of antibiotics called aminoglycosides has the potential to spread to many types of bacteria.
Advertisement
 Antibiotics may Cause AutoimmunityFor every gene, the code includes a message at the end of it that signals the translation machinery to stop. | Advertisement
|
Rising Number of Patients Admitted With Antibiotic-Resistant Infections: RI Hospital
Community-acquired infections like urinary tract infections, due to emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains are on the rise, say Rhode Island Hospital researchers.
Advertisement
Recommended Readings
Latest Research News
New study sheds light on the intrinsic, yet often overlooked, role of sleep preparation as a hardwired survival strategy.
Microgravity-induced bone loss in space, can be reduced by systemic delivery of NELL-1, a protein required for bone growth and its maintenance.
Researchers establish connections between Alzheimer's-linked genetic alterations and the functioning of brain cells.
Team at NeuroRestore introduces a groundbreaking gene therapy that has effectively promoted nerve regrowth and reconnection, post spinal cord injury.
Scientists aim to pinpoint particular functional pathways affected by these bacteria that may have an impact on skeletal health.
