Analysis of the “superbacteria” issue and contemporary approaches to its solution

The discovery of antibacterial preparations (ABP) in the form of antibiotics has an almost 100-year history. During this time, both the flourishing of their effectiveness against many pathogenic bacteria and the currently emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) to them have been noted. This review analyses the results of studies conducted by many international laboratories involved in the development of both new antibiotics and other forms of antibacterial drugs. Contemporary approaches are presented in the field of nanotechnology, genomic and postgenomic technologies with their application contributing to the creation of new ABPs. By virtue of these technologies, the first results have been obtained on the application of molecular peptides and nanoparticles in terms of ABPs, acting lytically on the bacterial membrane. In recent years, bacteriophage viruses and their combinations have again been actively used as ABPs to fight superbacteria, while data on their ability to lyse pathogens have been obtained. In addition, an analysis was provided of the results for bacteria metabolic studies provided for the creation of the iChip chip design for high-performance culturing of bacteria in their natural habitat, while opening the access to "uncultured" microorganisms. In a number of studies also based on metabolic methods, the results are presented for the identification of "uncultured" microorganisms directly from the metagenomes. This approach allows them to be further cloned and expressed into the genomes of the prototyped bacteria. According to the authors, this allows for rapid selection of new molecules for use as antibiotics. The main conclusion of this review consists in the necessity of studying the "superbacteria" formation mechanisms for both MDR factors and their interaction with the cells of the human body. In general, given the extensive scientific research on the creation of new ABPs, the future does not look so threatening to humanity in the fight against "superbacteria".

The authors declare no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this article.

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