Colistin is a last-resort antibiotic that is usually only used for severe infections with resistant bacteria. This is due to its severe kidney-damaging side effects, which occur in around 30 percent of treated patients. A research team at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) has now been able to produce an inactivated, harmless form of colistin that is only activated in the body with the help of chemical switches. In this so-called click-to-release technique, the chemical switches are specifically bound to the disease-causing bacteria. The administered masked colistin is therefore activated specifically at the site of action. The researchers hope that this could reduce side effects. The study was published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
