Researchers
at the University of Warwick have developed a method to synthesize
large libraries of polymers to make their screening for antimicrobial activity
faster and without the need to use sealed vials, the University announced in an
Aug. 14, 2018 press release. The researchers are investigating innovative
antimicrobials to address antimicrobial resistance.
The
polymers were synthesized using a high-throughput technique with liquid-handling
robots and photochemical polymerization. “Whilst many people have successfully
mimicked antimicrobial peptides with polymers, the limiting step was the number
of different combinations of building blocks you can use. We used simple
robotics and a light controlled polymerization, which lets us do the chemistry
open to air, without any sealed vials, which are essential for most polymer
syntheses,” Professor Matthew Gibson from Warwick’s Department of Chemistry and
Warwick Medical School and lead author of a paper published in Chemistry; A
European Journal, said in the press release.
“We
prepared the polymers in such a way that at the end of the reaction, we use the
robotics to mix polymers directly with bacteria, so we could look for
unexpected activity, which we achieved,” explained Sarah-Jane Richards, from
the Gibson Group at the University of Warwick and the lead author of the work,
in the press release. While traditional antimicrobials, such as penicillin,
work by inhibiting key cellular processes, the Warwick team is investigating
host-defense peptides, which are broad spectrum antimicrobials that function by
breaking apart the membrane of bacteria. “Surprisingly, the best materials do
not seem to break apart the bacteria as we predicted, but rather inhibit their
growth. We are investigating this further," added Richards.

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle,
Pharmaceutical Microbiology
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