It turns out that the “dispensers” of antibiotics are themselves antibioticsin Russia16:03 | 18 May 2023

Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Research Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology. AN Belozersky Moscow State University has proven that triphenylphosphonium and its derivatives do not have the toxicity attributed to them, making them one of the most promising antibiotics and antioxidants. The scientists’ work was published in the journal Antibiotics.

The search for antibiotics – substances that kill prokaryotic cells and not eukaryotic ones – is an urgent need of modern medicine. Bacterial cells – prokaryotes – do not have nuclei, but in eukaryotes (including human cells) they do.

The researchers decided to study the antibacterial properties of triphenylphosphonium and its derivatives. These substances have long been used in medicine as vectors for the delivery of antibiotics to the mitochondria, the “powerhouse” of the cell. Compounds can pass through the cell membrane using the potential difference mechanism.

Earlier, in 2017, Russian scientists discovered that these compounds can selectively cause the death of bacteria: they do not kill all cells, but only isolated ones that are not part of tissues. However, the mechanism of toxicity of these substances is unknown.

This toxicity turned out to be a result of suppression of metabolism by the compounds. The antibiotic reduces the membrane potential. As a result, all cellular processes are also slowed down. The cell cannot divide, cannot synthesize proteins, and spends all the remaining energy pumping the matter out. The more complex cells of the human body are better protected at the membrane level, but bacteria can no longer survive.

In addition, scientists emphasize that triphenylphosphonium and its derivatives are mitochondria-targeted antioxidants that help cells recover and survive.