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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Visualization of Bacterial Resistance using Fluorescent Antibiotic Probes
Published on: March 2, 2020
Potent antibacterial activity of halogenated compounds against antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Charles Santhanaraju Vairappan1, Tomotake Kawamoto, Hideaki Miwa
1Laboratory of Marine Natural Product Chemistry, Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. csv@ums.edu.my
Abstract:
Common Gram-positive clinical pathogens are showing an increasing trend for resistance to conventional antimicrobial agents. New drugs with potent antibacterial activities are urgently needed to remediate this problem. Halogenated compounds isolated from several species of the red algae genus Laurencia were examined for their antibacterial activity against 22 strains of human pathogenic bacteria, 7 strains of which were antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Four phenolic sesquiterpenes and a polybrominated indole showed wide spectra of antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium (VRE). In addition, laurinterol and allolaurinterol displayed potent bactericidal activity against three strains of MRSA at 3.13 microg mL(-1), and three strains of vancomycin-susceptible Enterococcus, at 3.13 microg mL(-1) and 6.25 microg mL(-1), respectively.
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