Bis-Cyclic Guanidines as Antibacterial Agents

Competitive Advantages: Potent antimicrobial activity against resistant bacteria, Effective on both gram positive and negative bacteria, Can penetrate bacterial biofilm, Combat emerging threats of drug-resistant bacteria. Provided are novel bis-cyclic guanidine compounds, and the use thereof for treating bacterial infection. Scientists at USF have designed novel bis-cyclic guanidine compounds that kill bacteria by compromising their cell membranes. Their mechanism of action is analogous to that of HDPs (host-defense peptides) which have recently surfaced as an alternative approach to fight bacterial resistance. Furthermore, these compounds exhibited excellent in vivo activity in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infected mice. Even after 14 consecutive passages of bis-guanidines, MRSA did not show signs of developing resistance against these compounds. It could even penetrate the normally drug resistant biofilm.  Thus,  indicating that bis-cyclic guanidines can act as potent membrane-active antibacterial agents, which can effectively kill multidrug resistant bacteria. This technology manifests an appealing class of antibiotic agents that can lead the fight against hospital and community-acquired infections.