A team of British researchers have recently developed a compound that may be able to tackle antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a new way. The compound is a metal complex, which is based on the element ruthenium. For years, scientists have been attempting to find a drug that can fight dangerous infections.
Study author Jim Thomas, a professor of bioinorganic chemistry at the University of Sheffield, in England, told a news portal it "works by binding to the cell wall of bacteria and disrupting so much the bacterial cells eventually burst open."Thomas further explained: "We have found a completely new kind of therapeutic lead to treat infections that are top of the World Health Organization's 'Priority Pathogens List' of bacteria that, due to complete resistance to current [antibiotics], urgently need new treatments."
While the drug has also been tested to see it if it can fight cancer, researchers feel it may have great potential as an antibacterial agent. "So we slightly tweaked one of our anticancer drug leads so that it would be preferentially taken up by bacteria rather than human cells," Thomas told a news portal. He revealed results from lab tests shows the compound to be "pretty effective".
"We have tested it against a number of bacteria, including pathogenic, multidrug-resistant forms," Thomas told a news portal. Adding, "We found it is as potent as current antibiotics, but retains its potency in the hard-to-treat, drug-resistant forms."
The compound also glows when it exposed to light, which will be extremely beneficial for researchers. "We can directly image their uptake into bacteria and watch how they are working within the cell," Thomas told a news portal. The new drug could be an effective treatment for Gram-negative bacteria strains, which has been very difficult to treat as the cell walls of the bacteria are tougher to get through.
Researchers also say the drug can also be safe to use on animals. "We have done some initial animal model work using Wax moth larvae and non-cancerous human cell cultures," Thomas told a news portal. Adding, "These studies reveal that even at concentrations that are hundreds of times higher than those that kill bacteria, the compound is nontoxic to our models. We will have to do further studies in mice and other animals before this progresses to humans."
The new development brings scientists closer to finding a cure for bacteria that are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Close to two million Americans reportedly develop an antibiotic-resistant infection annually.
"As the march of antimicrobial resistance continues and physicians are increasingly faced with little to no options in treating serious life-threatening infections, it is essential to heighten the search for new tools and move beyond traditional antibiotics," Dr Amesh Adalja is a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in Baltimore, told a news portal. Adding, "The new compounds described in this work are unique and have multiple mechanisms of action increasing the threshold for bacteria to acquire resistance.
The study's findings were originally published in the journal ACS Nano.
