Novel strategies in the war against antibiotic resistance

Abstract

The global threat of antibiotic resistance is steadily growing. Antibiotic resistancemay involve any class of antibiotic, including second- and third-line agents that have been considered to date the last-resort drugs to counteract common infections. We may lose our capability to keep under control many common bacterial infections [1]. Despite this, in the past decade significant research efforts have been made to develop new antibacterial strategies able to treat multidrug-resistant infections; however, no new therapeutic approach has yet reached the clinic [2,3]. In order to identify new valuable antimicrobial drugs, it is important to consider the main bacterial resistance mechanisms in both planktonic and sessile forms of life [4].