The Vancomycin Group of Antibiotics and the Fight against Resistant Bacteria

Dudley H Williams; Ben Bardsley

doi:10.1002/(SICI)1521-3773(19990503)38:9<1172::AID-ANIE1172>3.0.CO;2-C

The Vancomycin Group of Antibiotics and the Fight against Resistant Bacteria

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 1999 May 3;38(9):1172-1193. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1521-3773(19990503)38:9<1172::AID-ANIE1172>3.0.CO;2-C.

Authors

Dudley H Williams¹, Ben Bardsley¹

Affiliation

¹ Cambridge Centre for Molecular Recognition, University Chemical Laboratory, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW (UK), Fax: (+44) 1223-336913.

Abstract

A last line of defence against "superbugs" are the vancomycin group antibiotics. This review describes the determination of their mode of action, and a mechanism of resistance to them. Remarkably, this mechanism of resistance can be overcome without directly modifying the binding site of the antibiotics for the cell-wall precursors of pathogenic bacteria.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Cooperative effects; Dimerizations; Resistant bacteria; Vancomycin.

Publication types

Review