Sheffield scientists make breakthrough in battle to beat antiobiotic-resistant superbugs

A new compound which “visualises” and kills antibiotic resistant infections has been discovered by scientists at the University of Sheffield and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire.

How Sheffield is engineering the future with UK-leading £124m investmentSheffield-made animal robots can comfort disabled childrenSheffield scientists are growing food ten times faster without soil at an urban farmThe team, led by Prof Jim Thomas at the University of Sheffield’s chemistry department, is testing new compounds developed by PhD student Kirsty Smitten on antibiotic resistant gram-negative bacteria, including pathogenic E. coli.

Gram-negative bacteria strains can cause infections including pneumonia, urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections. They are difficult to treat as the cell wall of the bacteria prevents drugs from getting into the microbe.

Such is the importance of finding ways to combat antimicrobial resistance, it is already responsible for 25,000 deaths in the EU each year and it has been estimated that 10 million people

or more could die every year by 2050 unless there is a breakthrough.

Doctors have not had a new treatment for gram-negative bacteria in the last 50 years, and no potential drugs have entered clinical trials since 2010.

Prof Thomas believes the new drug compound has exciting potential.

He said: “As the compound is luminescent it glows when exposed to light. This means the uptake and effect on bacteria can be followed by the advanced microscope techniques available at RAL.

“This breakthrough could lead to vital new treatments to life-threatening superbugs and the growing risk posed by antimicrobial resistance.”

Studies have shown that the compound seems to have several modes of action, making it more difficult for resistance to emerge in the bacteria. The next step is to test it against other multi-resistant bacteria.

In a recent report on antimicrobial resistant pathogens, the World Health Organisation put several gram-negative bacteria at the top of its list, stating that new treatments for these bacteria were ‘Priority 1 Critical’ because they cause infections with high death rates, are rapidly becoming resistant to present treatments and are often picked up in hospitals.

The pioneering research has been published today in the scientific journal, ACS Nano.