Researhers at Purdue University have identified a new compound that has been as effective as antibiotics.
The results are still preliminary, but have been published in the European Journal of Medical Chemistry.
The compound, called F6, has been potent against antibiotic-resistant pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is often found in hospitals and other health care settings, and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA).
Vancomycin has been a drug of last resort, so finding something that is effective against Vancomycin-resistnat bacteria is exciting.
The compound was tested against clinical isolates.
“This is very exciting,” said Herman Sintim, drug discovery professor in Purdue’s Department of Chemistry.
“We are not the first to report of a new molecular entity that killed these drug-resistant pathogens.
“But what is unique about the compound that we found is that when we tried to generate resistance in the lab, we couldn't.”
