Shape-Shifting Antibiotics

Researchers at The University of Adelaide’s, The Waite Research Institute were involved in a collaborative study with Professor John Moses from Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, in New York.

The researchers have designed and synthesized a unique class of shapeshifting vancomycin dimers that evade resistance acquisition mechanisms in superbugs, including the ESKAPE pathogens, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, also known as golden staph) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA).

Their research was recently published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

doi:10.1073/pnas.2208737120

Image: Image: Shutterstock: Lightspring

Produced By: Rodney Monk

Featured In Story: Jessica Wyllie, PhD Student, Waite Research Institute, The University of Adelaide

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 19 April 2023