Development of xanthone derivatives as effective broad-spectrum antimicrobials: Disrupting cell wall and inhibiting DNA synthesis.

Discovering potent antibiotics is of critical importance due to the substantial increases of microbial resistance. Xanthones are intriguing sources of antimicrobials, despite a scarcity of extensive investigations into their mechanisms of action. Here, we reported the development of a series of xanthone derivatives, among which compound displayed strong broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, weak hemolytic activity, and low cytotoxicity against mammalian cell lines, low frequencies of drug resistance, and potent in vivo efficacy in - or -induced murine corneal infection models.