A Macromolecule Reversing Antibiotic Resistance Phenotype and Repurposing Drugs as Potent Antibiotics

Abstract

Abstract In order to mitigate antibiotic resistance, a new strategy to increase antibiotic potency and reverse drug resistance is needed. Herein, the translocation mechanism of an antimicrobial guanidinium‐functionalized polycarbonate is leveraged in combination with traditional antibiotics to afford a potent treatment for drug‐resistant bacteria. Particularly, this polymer–antibiotic combination approach reverses rifampicin resistance phenotype in Acinetobacter baumannii demonstrating a 2.5 × 105‐fold reduction in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and a 4096‐fold reduction in minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). This approach also enables the repurposing of auranofin as an antibiotic against multidrug‐resistant (MDR) Gram‐negative bacteria with a 512‐fold MIC and 128‐fold MBC reduction, respectively. Finally, the in vivo efficacy of polymer–rifampicin combination is demonstrated in a MDR bacteremia mouse model. This combination approach lays foundational ground rules for a new class of antibiotic adjuvants capable of reversing drug resistance phenotype and repurposing drugs against MDR Gram‐negative bacteria.

Keywords

• antibiotics
• combination therapy
• drug repurposing
• macromolecules
• reversal of antibiotic resistance phenotype