Identification of Staphylococcus aureus Cellular Pathways Affected by the Stilbenoid Lead Drug SK-03-92 Using a Microarray.

The mechanism of action for a new lead stilbene compound coded SK-03-92 with bactericidal activity against methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is unknown. To gain insight into the killing process, transcriptional profiling was performed on SK-03-92 treated vs. untreated .

Design and synthesis of novel antimicrobials with activity against Gram-positive bacteria and mycobacterial species, including M. tuberculosis.

The alarming increase in bacterial resistance over the last decade along with a dramatic decrease in new treatments for infections has led to problems in the healthcare industry. Tuberculosis (TB) is caused mainly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis which is responsible for 1.4 million deaths per year.

A new class of potential anti-tuberculosis agents: Synthesis and preliminary evaluation of novel acrylic acid ethyl ester derivatives.

Novel acrylic acid ethyl ester derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as potential agents against Mycobacterium species. A versatile and efficient copper-catalyzed coupling process was developed and used to prepare a library of substituted acrylic acid ethyl ester analogs. Minimum inhibitory concentration assays indicated that two of these compounds 3 and 4 have greater in vitro activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis than rifampin, one of the current, first-line anti-mycobacterial chemotherapeutic agents.

New classes of Gram-positive selective antibacterials: inhibitors of MRSA and surrogates of the causative agents of anthrax and tuberculosis.

An antimicrobial phenolic stilbene, (E)-3-hydroxy-5-methoxystilbene, 1 was recently isolated from the leaves of Comptonia peregrina (L.) Coulter and shown to possess inhibitory activity against several Gram-positive bacteria, including isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Mycobacterium bovis BCG, and avirulent Bacillusanthracis (Sterne strain), among others. These results prompted the design and synthesis of two new classes of compounds, phenoxystyrenes and phenothiostyrenes, as analogs of the natural antimicrobial stilbene.