Combinations of antibiotics and nonantibiotic drugs enhance antimicrobial efficacy
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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Quadruple-Checkerboard: A Modification of the Three-Dimensional Checkerboard for Studying Drug Combinations
Published on: July 24, 2021
Linda Ejim1, Maya A Farha, Shannon B Falconer
1M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
Combinations of antibiotics are commonly used in medicine to broaden antimicrobial spectrum and generate synergistic effects. Alternatively, combination of nonantibiotic drugs with antibiotics offers an opportunity to sample a previously untapped expanse of bioactive chemical space. We screened a collection of drugs to identify compounds that augment the activity of the antibiotic minocycline. Unexpected synergistic drug combinations exhibited in vitro and in vivo activity against bacterial pathogens, including multidrug-resistant isolates.
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