AI Summary
RUDN University chemists and colleagues from Belarus have developed derivatives of chitosan, a natural polymer, that have higher antibacterial activity than existing antibiotics. The new substances are also non-toxic and the production method is safe. The researchers combined chitosan with benzothiazole, an organic compound known for its antibacterial properties. This approach could lead to the development of more effective and safer antibacterial drugs.
RUDN University chemists and colleagues from Belarus obtained derivatives of the natural polymer chitosan, which exceeded existing antibiotics in antibacterial activity. Moreover, the new substances are non-toxic, and the production method is safe. The results were published in Polymers.
Modern antibiotics can be too weak and cause allergies and side effects, so we need to develop new approaches to treat bacterial infections. The chemistry of polymers helps with this, including natural polymers like chitosan obtained from crab shells. Its derivatives and modified systems based on it are used for the development of antibacterial drugs.
RUDN University chemists and colleagues from Belarus proposed a new approach, combining the advantages of chitosan and the cyclic organic compound benzothiazole, which also has antibacterial properties.
“The natural polymer chitosan has inspired many researchers due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and many other attractive biological properties, including antibacterial effects. Antibacterial derivatives have been obtained based on chitosan. On the other hand, several highly effective antibacterial low-toxic compounds have been obtained based on benzothiazole. These results inspired us to synthesize benzothiazole derivatives of chitosan and study their antibacterial properties,” said Andrey Kritchenkov, Ph.D., Department of Inorganic Chemistry, RUDN University.
RUDN University chemists