The clinically important vancomycin antibiotic inhibits the growth of pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus by blocking cell wall synthesis through specific recognition of nascent peptidoglycan terminating in D-Ala-D-Ala. Here, we demonstrate the ability of single-molecule atomic force microscopy with antibiotic-modified tips to measure the specific binding forces of vancomycin and to map individual ligands on living bacteria. The single-molecule approach presented here provides new opportunities for understanding the binding mechanisms of antibiotics and for exploring the architecture of bacterial cell walls.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.