US Pharm. 2013;38(7):18.
Pittsburgh, PA—University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed antibacterial compounds that could be potential treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections. Derived from the outer coating of HIV, these new agents are quite small, making them simple and inexpensive to manufacture. The original HIV peptides were engineered for greater effectiveness and smaller size. The lead compound, which contains just 12 amino acid residues, demonstrates “powerful antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of diverse pathogenic activity that are resistant to most antibiotics,” said senior author Ronald Montelaro. A likely initial application will be chronic bacterial infections of the lung in cystic fibrosis patients. Another possible application of the compound is biodefense, as an immediate treatment in individuals exposed to aerosolized pathogens.
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