Enterobactin- and salmochelin-β-lactam conjugates induce cell morphologies consistent with inhibition of penicillin-binding proteins in uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073.

ABSTRACT: The design and synthesis of narrow-spectrum antibiotics that target a specific bacterial strain, species, or group of species is a promising strategy for treating bacterial infections when the causative agent is known. In this work, we report the synthesis and evaluation of four new siderophore-β-lactam conjugates where the broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics cephalexin (Lex) and meropenem (Mem) are covalently attached to either enterobactin (Ent) or diglucosylated Ent (DGE) via a stable polyethylene glycol (PEG₃) linker. These siderophore-β-lactam conjugates showed enhanced minimum inhibitory concentrations against Escherichia coli compared to the parent antibiotics. Uptake studies with uropathogenic E. coli CFT073 demonstrated that the DGE-β-lactams target

SUBMITTER: Sargun A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8179508 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature