AUTHOR=Wang Jinhui , Sun Xiaoshuai , Xie Yanxuan , Long Yan , Chen Huowen , He Xiaojun , Zou Taotao , Mao Zong-Wan , Xia Wei 

TITLE=Identification of an Au(I) N-Heterocyclic Carbene Compound as a Bactericidal Agent Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2022.895159

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2022.895159

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>The opportunistic pathogen <italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</italic> (<italic>P. aeruginosa</italic>) causes infections that are difficult to treat, which is due to the bacterial resistance to antibiotics. We herein identify a gold(I) N-heterocyclic carbene compound as a highly potent antibacterial agent towards <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic>. The compound significantly attenuates <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> virulence and leads to low tendency to develop bacterial resistance. The antibacterial mechanism studies show that the compound abrogates bacterial membrane integrity, exhibiting a high bactericidal activity toward <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic>. The relatively low cytotoxic compound has excellent therapeutic effects on both the eukaryotic cell co-culture and murine wound infection experiments, suggesting its potential application as a bactericidal agent to combat <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> infection.</p>