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Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become a powerful multifunctional platform for probing microbial cell surfaces, one molecule at a time, thereby uncovering biophysical properties and interactions that are otherwise not accessible. Single-cell force spectroscopy has been widely used to quantify the adhesion forces of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi, whereas single-molecule force spectroscopy has enabled the functional analysis and imaging of individual receptors on cell surfaces. In addition, AFM has been instrumental in assessing the inhibition of adhesion of pathogens by carbohydrates, antibodies, and peptides, thus showing promise for antiadhesion therapy.

The success in exploring anti-tubercular potency of nitroimidazole and quinoline, the core moieties of recently approved anti-tubercular drugs instigated us to synthesize a series of alkylated/aminated 2-methyl-5-nitroimidazoles and nitroimidazole-7-chloroquinoline conjugates and to evaluate them for their activities against Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well as for their cytotoxicity towards the J774 murine macrophage cell line. Although the synthesized compounds did not surpass the activity of the standard drug Isoniazid, they have appreciable activities with minimal cytotoxicity. The synthesized nitroimidazole-7-chloroquinoline conjugate, 11c, having butyl chain as linker, proved to be the most potent among the series with an MIC50 value of 2.2 μg/mL.