Supramolecular Antibiotic Switches: A Potential Strategy for Combating Drug Resistance.
Bacterial infectious disease is a serious public health concern throughout the world. Pathogen drug resistance, arising from both rational use and abuse/misuse of germicides, complicates the situation. Aside from developing novel antibiotics and antimicrobial agents, molecular approaches have become another significant method to overcome the problem of pathogen drug resistance. Established supramolecular systems, the antibiotic properties of which can be switched "on" and "off" through host-guest interactions, show great potential in combating issues regarding antibiotic resistance in the long term, as indicated by several recent studies. In this Concept, recently developed strategies for antibacterial regulation are summarized and further directions for research into antibiotic switches are proposed.
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China.
Haotian
H
Bai
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China. wangshu@iccas.ac.cn.
Fengting
F
Lv
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China.
Libing
L
Liu
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China. lvft@iccas.ac.cn.
Shu
S
Wang
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
antibiotics; drug resistance; host-guest systems; photochemical switches; supramolecular chemistry