The IMI TRANSLOCATION project carried out intensive studies of these porins and receptors. Proteins’ role in keeping bacteria out of reach of antibiotics, and their potential as drug targets, is being studied by scientists hoping to break the impasse in antibiotic research. These proteins are called porins and receptors, which are like pores. What we do know is that the membrane is studded with two types of proteins through which molecules can cross the outer membrane. The complex structure of the membrane, and the way it carries out this food delivery service, are not yet fully understood. The outer membrane provides an extra layer of protection, but it also allows the material that the bacteria need to sustain life – basically, its ‘food’ – to pass through unhindered. The task for researchers is to figure out how new drugs can be made to outmanoeuvre this membrane and get them inside the bacterial cell. Gram-negative bacteria are the subject of many of IMI’s antimicrobial research projects. They are behind some of the most serious infections in humans (like pneumonia, salmonella, plague…), and multidrug resistance is rising. This makes them less permeable to chemical compounds as well as antibiotics. Gram-negative bacteria don’t retain the violet staining because the external layer that’s typically found in Gram positive bacteria is partially substituted by an extra outer membrane. It’s a quick way to reveal which antibiotic is likely to treat your infection. Gram-positive bacteria will stay violet-coloured because their cell wall retains the dye while Gram-negative cell walls don’t. It refers to how they appear when they come into contact with violet-coloured dye in the laboratory. Gram-negative and Gram-positive describe types of bacteria based on the structure of their cell walls.
#Gram positive vs gram negative antibiotic how to
One of the main reasons there have been so few new antibiotics developed in recent decades – apart from a poor return on investment – is that researchers have run out of ideas on how to outwit the protective mechanisms of Gram-negative bacteria. There’s no lack of chemicals that can kill bacteria. One of the biggest obstacles is Gram-negative bacteria’s protective outer barrier, which is extremely difficult to penetrate.
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