The antimicrobial effect of anti-dnaKpeptide nucleic acids on multidrug resistant strains ofEscherichia coliandSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium

Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica species are Gram-negative bacteria that have recently shown acquired resistance to multiple antimicrobials. These resistant strains, referred to as multidrug resistant (MDR), are not effectively inhibited by current antimicrobials and therefore cause a range of untreatable infections. Peptide nucleic acids (PNA) have been proposed as an alternative antimicrobial treatment. These synthetic nucleic acid mimics are effective through steric inhibition of bacterial transcription and translation. This study examines the effect of PNA on MDR strains of E. coli and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility and minimum inhibitory concentration determinations (MIC) were completed to show bacterial resistance levels to current antimicrobials. Using S. Typhimurium specific dnaK PNA, MIC was determined to assess the effectiveness of PNA on MDR strains of E. coli and S. Typhimurium. Results showed that while the dnaK PN...