Created a compound capable of killing superbugs that are currently resistant to antibiotics.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousAntibiotic resistance may be running out: a group of British researchers has developed a new compound that visualizes and kills superbatteri which are currently resistant to antibiotic treatments.
Scientists at the University of Sheffield and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Ral) explain this in a new study. The team, led by Jim Thomas of the Sheffield Department of Chemistry, is testing new compounds developed on Gram-negative bacteria resistant to antibiotics, including Escherichia coli.
Gram-negative bacterial strains can cause infections including pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and bloodstream infections. They are difficult to treat as the cell wall of the bacteria prevents drugs from entering the microbe.
Antimicrobial resistance is in fact already responsible for 25 thousand dead in Europe every year, and unless this rapidly emerging threat is addressed, it is estimated that by 2050, more than 10 million people could die annually from antibiotic-resistant infections.
The World Health Organization itself has included among its objectives the need to find new treatments against resistant bacteria in the “Priority 1 Critical” category and now the new drug discovered would have a wide range of opportunities.
“Since the compound is luminescent, it glows when exposed to light. This means that the uptake and effect on bacteria can be followed by the advanced microscopy techniques available at RAL, ”explains Jim Thomas. This breakthrough could lead to vital new treatments for life-threatening superbugs and the growing risk posed by antimicrobial resistance. "
Studies by Sheffield and RAL showed that the compound appears to have different modes of action, making it more difficult for resistance in bacteria to emerge. The next step in the research will be to test it against other multi-resistant bacteria.
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Germana Carillo
