Probing the Mechanism of LAL-32, a Gold Nanoparticle-Based Antibiotic Discovered through Small Molecule Variable Ligand Display.

ABSTRACT: The unrelenting rise of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria has necessitated the search for novel antibiotic solutions. Herein we describe further mechanistic studies on a 2.0-nm-diameter gold nanoparticle-based antibiotic (designated LAL-32). This antibiotic exhibits bactericidal activity against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli at 1.0 μM, a concentration significantly lower than several clinically available antibiotics (such as ampicillin and gentamicin), and acute treatment with LAL-32 does not give rise to spontaneous resistant mutants. LAL-32 treatment inhibits cellular division, daughter cell separation, and twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway dependent shuttling of proteins to the periplasm. Furthermore, we have found that the cedA gene imparts increased resistance to

SUBMITTER: Byrne-Nash R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5798254 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature