Harnessing 'brute force' could be key to creating new antibiotics

Conclusions This laboratory study furthers understanding of the mechanisms by which antibacterial drugs target and destroy bacteria. The answer seems to lie in how effectively the drug can bind to target molecules on the bacterial surface membrane. When the force of this binding exerts sufficient mechanical strain on the cell surface, then the bacteria breaks apart and is destroyed. It shows that the strongest antibacterials that we have, such as vancomycin, are currently not infallible. That we could reach a point where we have bacterial infections that not even the strongest antibiotics are able to fight is a major public health concern. It is hoped that further research will be able to build on these findings and develop new or modified antibacterials that have better ability to interact with the bacterial surface membrane and so destroy the cells. Lead researcher Dr Jospeh Ndieyira is quoted in BBC News as saying: "No-one has really thought about antibiotics using mechanical forces to kill their targets before. This will help us create a new generation of antibiotics to tackle multi-drug resistant bacterial infections, now recognised as one of the greatest global threats in modern healthcare." You can help combat the threat of antibiotic resistance yourself by: recognising that most coughs, colds and stomach bugs are viral and do not need antibiotics if prescribed antibiotics, always take them exactly as prescribed and take the full course, even if yo...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Medical practice Source Type: news