Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 28, 2026
08:23
Visualization of Bacterial Resistance using Fluorescent Antibiotic Probes
Published on: March 2, 2020
13.5K
Profluorescent Fluoroquinolone-Nitroxides for Investigating Antibiotic⁻Bacterial Interactions
Anthony D Verderosa1,2, Rabeb Dhouib3, Kathryn E Fairfull-Smith4
1School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia. anthony.verderosa@qut.edu.au.
Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 7, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed a novel profluorescent fluoroquinolone-nitroxide antibiotic probe. This probe illuminates antibiotic-bacterial interactions and intracellular processes within bacterial cells.
Area of Science:
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Microbiology
- Cellular Imaging
Background:
- Fluorescent probes are essential for studying dynamic cellular processes.
- Fluorescent antibiotics aid in understanding antibiotic-bacterial interactions and resistance mechanisms.
- Profluorescent nitroxides act as "switch on" probes for intracellular free radical and redox imaging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create the first profluorescent fluoroquinolone-nitroxide probe by combining fluoroquinolone and nitroxide properties.
- To assess the probe's fluorescence suppression, restoration, cellular entry, and antibacterial activity.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of a novel fluoroquinolone-nitroxide (FN) probe.
- Evaluation of fluorescence suppression and restoration via radical trapping and reduction.
- Testing of bacterial cell entry (Gram-positive and Gram-negative) and retention of antibacterial activity.
Main Results:
- The FN probe (14) demonstrated significant fluorescence suppression (>36-fold).
- Fluorescence was restored upon radical trapping (17) or reduction to hydroxylamine (20).
- The probe successfully entered bacterial cells, exhibited "switch on" fluorescence, and maintained antibacterial efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Profluorescent nitroxide antibiotics represent a new class of powerful tools.
- These probes enable visualization of antibiotic-bacterial interactions.
- They facilitate research into intracellular chemical processes within bacteria.
Related Concept Videos
00:57Antibiotic Selection
59.9K
Overview
59.9K
01:33Bacterial Transformation
59.7K
In 1928, bacteriologist Frederick Griffith worked on a vaccine for pneumonia, which is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. Griffith studied two pneumonia strains in mice: one pathogenic and one non-pathogenic. Only the pathogenic strain killed host mice.
Griffith made an unexpected discovery when he killed the pathogenic strain and mixed its remains with the live, non-pathogenic strain. Not only did the mixture kill host mice, but it also contained living pathogenic bacteria that...
Griffith made an unexpected discovery when he killed the pathogenic strain and mixed its remains with the live, non-pathogenic strain. Not only did the mixture kill host mice, but it also contained living pathogenic bacteria that...
59.7K
01:30Development of Antibiotic Resistance
1.5K
Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern that arises when bacteria evolve mechanisms to withstand the effects of antibiotic treatments. This resistance can be intrinsic, acquired through genetic mutations, or transferred between bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. The development of antibiotic resistance poses significant challenges in treating bacterial infections and necessitates ongoing research to develop new therapeutic strategies.Intrinsic resistance occurs when bacterial...
1.5K
01:30Bacterial Signaling
40.6K
Bacterial signaling can occur within bacteria (intracellular) or between bacteria (intercellular). At times, a group of bacteria behaves like a community. To achieve this, they engage in quorum sensing, the perception of higher cell density that causes changes in gene expression. Quorum sensing involves both extracellular and intracellular signaling. The signaling cascade starts with a molecule called an autoinducer (AI). Individual bacteria produce AIs that move out of the bacterial cell...
40.6K
00:43Bacterial RNA Polymerase
32.7K
Unlike eukaryotes, bacteria use a single RNA Polymerase (RNAP) to transcribe all genes. The different subunits of bacterial RNAPhave distinct functions. The multisubunit structure of the bacterial RNAP helps the enzyme to maintain catalytic function, facilitate assembly, interact with DNA and RNA, and self-regulate its activity.
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
32.7K
02:39Predator-Prey Interactions
21.4K
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
21.4K