"Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute TSRI have given new superpowers to a lifesaving antibiotic called vancomycin an advance that could eliminate the threat of antibioticresistant infections for years to come. The researchers led by Dale Boger cochair of TSRIs Department of Chemistry discovered a way to structurally modify vancomycin to make an alreadypowerful version of the antibiotic even more potent. Doctors could use this modified form of vancomycin without fear of resistance emerging said Boger whose team announced the finding today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The original form of vancomycin is an ideal starting place for developing better antibiotics. The antibiotic has been prescribed by doctors for  years and bacteria are only now developing resistance to it. This suggests bacteria already have a hard time overcoming vancomycins original mechanism of action which works by disrupting how bacteria form cell walls. Boger called vancomycin magical for its proven strength against infections and previous studies by Boger and his colleagues at TSRI had shown that it is possible to add two modifications to vancomycin to make it even more potent. With these modifications you need less of the drug to have the same effect Boger said. The new study shows that scientists can make a third modificationwhich interferes with a bacteriums cell wall in a new waywith promising results. Combined with the previous modifications this alteration gives vancomycin a fold increase in activity meaning doctors would need to use less of the antibiotic to fight infection. The discovery makes this version of vancomycin the first antibiotic to have three independent mechanisms of action. This increases the durability of this antibiotic said Boger. Organisms just cant simultaneously work to find a way around three independent mechanisms of action. Even if they found a solution to one of those the organisms would still be killed by the other two. Tested against Enterococci bacteria the new version of vancomycin killed both vancomycinresistant Enterococci and the original forms of Enterococci. The next step in this research is to design a way to synthesize the modified vancomycin using fewer steps in the lab as the current method takes  steps. But Boger calls this the easy part of the project compared with the challenge of designing the molecule in the first place. Even if the process isnt streamlined Boger believes the new vancomycins lifesaving powers make its production valuable. Antibiotics are total cures for bacterial infections said Boger. Making this molecule is important even by the current approach if the failure of antibiotics continues. In addition to Boger authors of the study Peripheral modifications of CHNHTpgvancomycin with added synergistic mechanisms of action provide durable and potent antibiotics included first author Akinori Okano and Nicholas A. Isley both of TSRI. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants F GM and CA. About The Scripps Research Institute The Scripps Research Institute TSRI is one of the worlds largest independent notforprofit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer rheumatoid arthritis hemophilia and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in  the institute now employs more than  people on its campuses in La Jolla CA and Jupiter FL where its renowned scientistsincluding two Nobel laureates and  members of the National Academies of Science Engineering or Medicinework toward their next discoveries. The institutes graduate program which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. In October  TSRI announced a strategic affiliation with the California Institute for Biomedical Research Calibr representing a renewed commitment to the discovery and development of new medicines to address unmet medical needs. For more information see  http"