Na/K carrier ionophore antibiotics valinomycin and monensin enhance the antibacterial activity of fluoride.

Fluoride is routinely used as a highly effective antibacterial agent that interferes with bacterial metabolism through fundamentally different mechanisms. One of the major bacterial evasion mechanisms against fluoride is the impermeability of cell envelope to the anion that limits its cellular uptake. Therefore, translating such compounds to clinical settings requires novel mechanisms to facilitate the uptake of membrane-impermeant molecules.