Antimicrobial Drug Discovery

This book, inclusive of 22 chapters, describes novel approaches currently used for antimicrobial drug discovery, focusing on agents for use against bacterial and fungal pathogens. Specific chapters discuss: (1) concepts relevant to drug resistance; (2) microbial mechanisms related to efflux pumps and studies on their potential inhibitors; (3) impact of multidrug tolerance of biofilms and persister cells; (4) bacterial quorum-sensing inhibition; (5) inhibition of the bacterial filamentous temperature-sensitive mutant Z (FtsZ); (6) antibacterial properties of lysostaphin; (7) strategies to identify modified ribosomally synthesized antimicrobials; (8) quantitative structure-activity relationship studies of novel antimicrobial peptides; (9) bacterial acetyl-CoA carboxylase and lipopolysacharide as drug targets for antibiotic development; (10) pathosystematic systems biology for the rational design of novel antifungal compounds; (11) specific animal models for novel antimicrobial discovery; and (12) new antimicrobial technology platforms such as antimicrobial photodynamic therapy and carbon nanotubes.