Structure–Activity Studies of Antibacterials and Potentiators of Antibiotics

Dear Colleagues,

Although antibiotics have saved millions of lives, the current rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria has generated an urgent need to identify new antibacterials and explore alternative strategies to combat these pathogens. In particular, two strategies are of interest: (i) structure–activity studies of antibacterials including antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and peptidomimetics, and (ii) potentiators of antibiotics (e.g., studies of a broad spectrum of antibiotics in combination with potentiators against important veterinary/human pathogens).

AMPs are considered interesting potential new antibiotics, as they constitute an essential part of the innate immune system in all multicellular organisms. Additionally, their broad-spectrum activity, fast killing mechanisms, and membrane-associated mode of action confers a low tendency for resistance development. Structure–activity studies of antibacterials (including antimicrobial peptides and peptidomimetics) provide important knowledge on how to design new potential antibacterials. Such structure–activity studies include modifications conferring enhanced antibacterial activity while keeping the toxic side effects at an acceptable level.

The discovery of new compounds possessing the capacity to potentiate existing antibacterials has received considerable attention in recent years. Such compounds may enable the circumvention of already developed resistance by resensitizing multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria to commonly used antibiotics.

For this Special Issue entitled” Structure–Activity Studies of Antibacterials and Potentiators of Antibiotics” we invite authors to submit articles covering all aspects of this theme.

Assoc. Prof. Henrik Franzyk
Assoc. Prof. Paul Robert Hansen
Guest Editors

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