Development of Effective Antibacterial Treatment: Lessons from the Past and Novel Approaches

Dear Colleagues,

In the last three decades, the appearance and rapid diffusion of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, due to inappropriate prescription and extensively use of antibiotics in agriculture and veterinary practice, have been observed. Contextually, the discovery rate of novel antibacterial agents has declined steeply. Therefore, overuse/misuse of antimicrobials and the lack of development of new effective molecules led to the so called “antibiotic resistance crisis”, making infections one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In this frame, active substances and alternative strategies to fight this global threat to the public health, are urgently needed. The development of novel active molecules is extensively pursed, but at the same time this approach might be time-consuming and very expensive. Thus, testing novel associations of already approved drugs and drug repositioning may represent valuable tools to answer the problem. As an example, Auranofin a gold-based drug approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, also exhibited an antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Moreover, rediscovering older antimicrobial therapies, such as treatment based on bacteriophages, which are active against multi-drug resistant bacteria, could be a promising approach for the therapy of difficult to treat infections. Also, innovative strategies for drug delivery has been successfully applied in some case, revealing that this may represent an additional weapon, worthy of further investigation. For instance, combination of either different antibiotics or antibiotics together with bacteriophages or other molecules has been successfully exploited to eradicate resistant chronic infections. Finally, several promising targeted and responsive drug delivery platforms aiming to enhance the antibacterial properties have been recently tested.

This Special Issue aims to collect original contributions (articles, reports and reviews) describing and reporting recent advances and developments in the field of antibacterial agents both laboratory studies and clinical applications.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Design and synthesis of novel antibacterial drugs
• Drug repositioning
• Metal-complexes with antimicrobial properties
• Lytic bacteriophages
• Antimicrobial peptides
• Innovative drug associations to overcome resistance
• Innovative strategies for antibacterial-agents delivery
• Study of mechanistic aspects involved in resistance phenomena
• New targets for antibiotics action
• Anti-persister drugs

Dr. Tiziano Marzo

Dr. Mariagrazia Di Luca
Guest Editors

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