Transition Towards Antibiotic Hybrid Vehicles: The Next Generation Antibacterials

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health problem when the discovery and development of novel antibiotics are diminishing. Various strategies have been proposed to address the problem of growing antibacterial resistance. One such strategy is the development of hybrid antibiotics. These therapeutic systems have been designed for two or more pharmacophores of known antimicrobial agents. This review highlights the latest development of antibiotic hybrids comprising two antibiotics (cleavable and non-cleavable) and combinations of biocidal and novel compounds to treat bacterial infections. The approach of dual-acting hybrid compounds has a promising future in overcoming drug resistance in bacterial pathogens.

Keywords: Antibiotic hybrids; adjuvant therapies; antibacterials; antibiotic potentiators; efflux pump inhibitor hybrids; nitric oxide donor hybrids; quorum sensing inhibitors hybrids..