In collaboration with the Fullam group (Life Sciences) we have previously demonstrated that Mycobacterium Tuberculosis can be killed if its cell surface glycans are cross-linked, removing the need for traditional targeting of a protein, and crucially the compounds do not have to permeate into the bacteria. In this latest work the team synthesised ‘clickable’ dimeric boronic acids which allow visualisation of the active compounds at the bacteria cell surface, providing key evidence for their mechanism of action. This approach is very distinct from traditional drug mechanisms, considering the glycome rather than the proteome and removing traditional limits associated with anti-tubercular drug discovery

Read the paper here in ChemComm

Imaging of antitubercular dimeric boronic acids at the mycobacterial cell surface by click-probe capture,Link opens in a new window