By chance they create an antibiotic capable of eliminating bacteria considered “untreatable”

A group of researchers from American scientific institutions created a new antibiotic that acts against a wide range of “untreatable” pathogenic microorganisms without causing bacterial resistance, so its use would reduce the risk of spreading infectious diseases that are difficult to treat with drugs. existing, reported the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Antibiotic resistance, or antimicrobial resistance (AMR), occurs when organisms that cause a disease have the ability to mutate over time, adapting so that they can survive exposure to drugs that could previously eliminate or control them.

The World Health Organization considers AMR as one of the main public health threats worldwide, since it is the cause of 1.27 million deaths per year, with low- and middle-income countries being the most affected.

Its creation was due to a coincidence

According to the authors of the research, published in the journal eBioMedicine, the development of the new drug occurred while a class of small synthetic molecules called conjugated oligoelectrolytes (COE) were being designed, which were going to be used to electrically charge US soldiers’ cell phones when they were in combat.

However, it was discovered that some of these compounds, when placed in bacterial membranes with the purpose of functioning as electron transporters, could also inhibit the growth of bacteria. Given this finding, the scientific team considered that these oligoelectrolytes could be used as possible antibiotics.

Academic Michael Mahan explained that although most of these chemicals can be “highly toxic to human cells in a similar way to bleach,” they found one that was not. This was used in trials with transgenic mice with septicemia, in which it managed to “kill all bacterial pathogens.”

This compound, identified as COE2-2hexyl, showed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. Likewise, a low level of bacterial resistance was observed after prolonged exposure to the drug. This is because, unlike penicillin, this antibiotic has a specific mechanism of action, since it can interrupt multiple bacterial functions simultaneously.

“This class of antibiotics has potential as a versatile new therapy for antimicrobial-resistant pathogens,” said researcher Charles Samuel. The scientists stressed that additional studies are planned to determine the safety and effectiveness of the drug before being used as a medical treatment. With RT

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