A novel non-antibiotic treatment approach for chronic and nosocomial infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus biofilms shows promise in offering a way to combat these increasingly difficult-to-treat infections.
A recent study by investigators from the University of Adelaide in Australia showed the efficacy of treating S. aureus biofilms in vitro with two compounds that target the essential iron metabolism for bacterial growth, pathogenesis, and survival. The data was presented at the American Rhinologic Society’s annual meeting in Dallas in September, 2015. [PDF].
“The first compound deferiprone (Def) diverts essential nutrients from bacteria, leaving them vulnerable, while the second compound gallium-protoporphyrin (GaPP) kills them,” said lead investigator of the study, Katharina Richter, a PhD student in the ear, nose, and throat surgery department at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research at the University of Adelaide’s, Australia. “The bacteria starve and die,” she said.