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Target-Based Antimicrobial Drug Discovery

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Bacterial Pathogenesis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 431))

Summary

The continued increase in antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens, coupled with a decrease in infectious disease research among pharmaceutical companies, has escalated the need for novel and effective antibacterial chemotherapies. While current agents have emerged almost exclusively from whole-cell screening of natural products and small molecules that cause microbial death, recent advances in target identification and assay development have resulted in a flood of target-driven drug discovery methods. Whether genome-based methodologies will yield new classes of agents that conventional methods have been unable to is yet to be seen. At the end of the day, perhaps a synergy between old and new approaches will harvest the next generation of antibacterial treatments.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wyeth Research, Pearl River, NY

    Lefa E. Alksne

  2. Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE

    Paul M. Dunman

Authors
  1. Lefa E. Alksne
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  2. Paul M. Dunman
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pathogen Host-Cell Biology Section, Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT

    Frank R. DeLeo

  2. Pathogen Molecular Genetics Section, Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT

    Michael Otto

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© 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Alksne, L.E., Dunman, P.M. (2008). Target-Based Antimicrobial Drug Discovery. In: DeLeo, F.R., Otto, M. (eds) Bacterial Pathogenesis. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 431. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-032-8_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-032-8_21

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-740-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-032-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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