Researchers at the University of Warwick have discovered a synthetic DNA binding compound that kills all bacteria it touches in two minutes.
The compound [Fe2L3]4+ is an iron triple helicate with three organic strands wrapped around two iron centres, to give a helix which looks cylindrical in shape and neatly fits into the major groove of a DNA helix.
It is about the same size as the parts of a protein that recognise and bind with particular sequences of DNA.
The high positive charge of the compound enhances its ability to bind to DNA that is negatively charged.
When the iron helicate binds to the major groove of DNA, it coils the DNA so that it is no longer available to bind to anything else and is not able to drive biological or chemical processes.
The researchers, led by Dr Adair Richards and Dr Albert Bolhuis, introduced [Fe2L3]4+ to two test bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and E coli, and found that it quickly bound to the bacteria's DNA and killed virtually every cell within two minutes of being introduced - though the concentration required for this was high.
The researchers will next try and understand how and why the compound can cross the bacteria cell wall and membranes.
They plan to test a wide range of compounds, to look for relatives of the iron helicate that have the same mechanism, in collaboration with researchers around the world.
The research has just been published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents in a paper entitled Antimicrobial Activity of an Iron Triple Helicate, by Dr Adair D Richards and Professor Alison Rodger from the University of Warwick, Professor Michael J Hannon from the University of Birmingham and Dr Albert Bolhuis from Bath University.
