Harnessing Transition Metal Scaffolds for Targeted Antibacterial Therapy

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance, caused by persistent adaptation and growing resistance of pathogenic bacteria to overprescribed antibiotics, poses one of the most serious and urgent threats to global public health. The limited pipeline of experimental antibiotics in development further exacerbates this looming crisis and new drugs with alternative modes of action is needed to tackle evolving pathogenic adaptation and mutation. Transition metal complexes can replenish this diminishing stockpile of drug candidates by providing compounds with unique properties that are not easily accessible by pure organic scaffolds. We spotlight four emerging strategies to harness these unique properties to develop new targeted antibacterial agents.