Frontiers in Chemistry (Apr 2022)

Identification of an Au(I) N-Heterocyclic Carbene Compound as a Bactericidal Agent Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

  • Jinhui Wang,
  • Xiaoshuai Sun,
  • Yanxuan Xie,
  • Yan Long,
  • Huowen Chen,
  • Xiaojun He,
  • Taotao Zou,
  • Zong-Wan Mao,
  • Wei Xia

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2022.895159
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) causes infections that are difficult to treat, which is due to the bacterial resistance to antibiotics. We herein identify a gold(I) N-heterocyclic carbene compound as a highly potent antibacterial agent towards P. aeruginosa. The compound significantly attenuates P. aeruginosa virulence and leads to low tendency to develop bacterial resistance. The antibacterial mechanism studies show that the compound abrogates bacterial membrane integrity, exhibiting a high bactericidal activity toward P. aeruginosa. The relatively low cytotoxic compound has excellent therapeutic effects on both the eukaryotic cell co-culture and murine wound infection experiments, suggesting its potential application as a bactericidal agent to combat P. aeruginosa infection.

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