Phys.org August 14, 2018
Researchers in the UK have developed a way to synthesize large libraries of polymers to make screening for antimicrobial activity faster, and without the need to use sealed vials. By using multiple ‘building blocks’ in their polymers, new antimicrobials were identified – some of which appear to inhibit bacteria growth, contrary to predictions. They found that the best materials do not seem to break apart the bacteria as we predicted, but rather inhibit their growth. The benefit of the method is that it allows screening of hundreds of different structures, enabling the researchers to ‘go fishing’ for new properties, which in this case was antibiotic activity… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE