Infectious disease

Cell culture studies identified three cadmium-based supramolecule coordination complexes (SCCs) that could help treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. The three SCCs consist of hexagonal-shaped rings that incorporate 12, 18 or 24 cadmium (II)-terpyridine complexes, and self-assemble into membrane-disrupting cationic tubular structures. In cultures of a MRSA strain, the SCCs inhibited bacterial growth with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 0.5-3 µg/ml, potency comparable to Cubicin daptomycin. Also in the cultures, one of the compounds increased membrane defects and cell lysis compared with no treatment, whereas in human erythrocytes the compound had no effect on cell lysis. Next steps could include testing the SCCs in models of MRSA infection...