Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Promising discovery in fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria .....

Researchers at  the  University  of British  Columbia  have identified a small molecule  that prevents  bacteria from forming into biofilms, a frequent cause of infections. The anti-biofilm peptide works on a range of bacteria including many that cannot be treated by antibiotics...


Hancock and his colleagues found that the peptide known as 1018  consisting of just 12 amino acids, the building blocks of protein  destroyed biofilms and prevented them from forming.
Bacteria are generally separated into two classes, Gram-positives and Gram-negatives, and the differences in their cell wall structures make them susceptible to different antibiotics. 1018 worked on both classes of bacteria as well as several major antibiotic-resistant pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosaE. coli and MRSA.

"Antibiotics are the most successful medicine on the planet. The lack of effective antibiotics would lead to profound difficulties with major surgeries, some chemotherapy treatments, transplants, and even minor injuries," says Hancock. "Our strategy represents a significant advance in the search for new agents that specifically target bacterial biofilms."


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