Staphylococcus epidermidis is found on the surface of human skin as part of the commensal skin flora. However, S. epidermidis is also the leading cause of contamination on indwelling medical devices and results in pathogenic, antibiotic resistant biofilms. As a member of the commensal skin flora, S. epidermidis also excels at evading the host immune system, further complicating treatment. Compounds that can target S. epidermidis and inhibit biofilm formation would have excellent potential as antimicrobials or adjuvant therapies in conjunction with current antibiotics. We have identified a class of structurally related FDA-approved drugs that inhibit S. epidermidis biofilm formation and lower the MIC of common b-lactam antibiotics via a non-toxic mechanism. We have constructed a preliminary structure-activity profile for this compound class and prepared an initial analog library based on these results. Synthetic and biological results for these analogs will be presented along with initial mechanistic studies.

Small molecule modulation of virulence behaviors in Staphylococcus epidermidis

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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