Update on carbohydrate-containing antibacterial agents

Environmentally friendly approaches to the synthesis of new antibiotics from sugars

In light of the biological importance of carbohydrates and their role when present in antibiotic agents, the design and synthesis of carbohydrate-based antibiotics has occupied a prominent place in drug discovery. This review focuses on synthetic carbohydrate antimicrobial agents, giving special emphasis to novel structures easily accessible from readily available carbohydrate precursors.

Using simple donors to drive the equilibria of glycosyltransferase-catalyzed reactions

We report that simple glycoside donors can drastically shift the equilibria of glycosyltransferase-catalyzed reactions, transforming NDP-sugar formation from an endothermic to an exothermic process. To demonstrate the utility of this thermodynamic adaptability, we highlight the glycosyltransferase-catalyzed synthesis of 22 sugar nucleotides from simple aromatic sugar donors, as well as the corresponding in situ formation of sugar nucleotides as a driving force in the context of glycosyltransferase-catalyzed reactions for small-molecule glycodiversification. These simple aromatic donors also enabled a general colorimetric assay for glycosyltransfer, applicable to drug discovery, protein engineering and other fundamental sugar nucleotide-dependent investigations. This study directly challenges the general notion that NDP-sugars are 'high-energy' sugar donors when taken out of their traditional biological context.

Synthesis and screening of galactose-linked nitroimidazoles and triazoles against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A series of galactose-linked nitroimidazoles/triazoles were synthesised and screened against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H(37)Rv. Preliminary results were promising with MIC values in the range 1.56-12.5 μg/mL. Most importantly they are active under aerobic condition under which metronidazole is inactive.