Many types of superbugs such as multiple-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococci are resistant to several types of antibiotics. This has created a massive health issue worldwide, causing illness and killing tens of thousands of people every year. Recently, Dr Chen Sheng at PolyU’s Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology collaborated with Dr Li Xuechen at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Hong Kong and Dr Yuan Yu at the University of Central Florida in the US in developing a strategy to chemically synthesise a novel antibiotic, Teixobactin.
Teixobactin was discovered by US scientists last year, which can kill several life-threatening pathogens and minimise the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. The total synthesis of Teixobactin lays a solid foundation in medicinal chemistry for the application and development of a new generation of antibiotics.
The PolyU research team led by Dr Chen is mainly responsible for biological works, including testing the antibacterial activity of synthesised compounds and providing essential information for the optimisation of Teixobactin analogues synthesis.
Research results have been published in Nature Communications, a leading international academic journal in sciences.