Advances in the Discovery of Novel Antibiotics

Dear Colleagues,

Compounding the problem of antimicrobial resistance is the immediate threat of a reduction in the discovery and development of new antibiotics, the dangers of which have recently been made clear by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other institutions in Europe. Consequently, a perfect storm is converging with regard to bacterial infections: antimicrobial resistance is increasing, whereas there has been a decrease in the development of novel antibiotics. New policies and actions are necessary to avoid the figures predicted for 2050, which attribute ten million deaths worldwide to antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, the development of non-traditional therapeutic strategies such as repurposed drugs, immunomodulators, bacteriophages, and antivirulence therapeutics for use alone or together with clinically relevant antibiotics has become exigent. In this environment, repurposing therapeutic drugs has received considerable attention. Despite this interest, only few repurposing drug trials are in advanced preclinical or clinical development. The goal of this Special Issue is to systematically provide an overview on the scientific evidence on the therapeutic potential of repurposing drugs against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. In specific, we aim to:

i) Discuss the therapeutic potential of this drug class;

ii) Identify their potential targets and their mechanisms of action, including DNA, RNA and proteins inhibitors, quorum sensing regulators, biofilm formation inhibitors and disruptors, drugs that interact with the cell membrane and iron metabolism, and host immune system modulators, among others;

iii) Summarize the outcomes of advanced preclinical trials for treating bacterial infections.

We welcome researchers to submit original research, reviews, or perspectives focusing on repurposing drugs for treatment against bacteria.

Dr. Younes Smani
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.