AUTHOR=Cheng Guyue , Dai Menghong , Ahmed Saeed , Hao Haihong , Wang Xu , Yuan Zonghui TITLE=Antimicrobial Drugs in Fighting against Antimicrobial Resistance JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology VOLUME=7 YEAR=2016 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00470 DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.00470 ISSN=1664-302X ABSTRACT=

The outbreak of antimicrobial resistance, together with the lack of newly developed antimicrobial drugs, represents an alarming signal for both human and animal healthcare worldwide. Selection of rational dosage regimens for traditional antimicrobial drugs based on pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic principles as well as development of novel antimicrobials targeting new bacterial targets or resistance mechanisms are key approaches in tackling AMR. In addition to the cellular level resistance (i.e., mutation and horizontal gene transfer of resistance determinants), the community level resistance (i.e., bilofilms and persisters) is also an issue causing antimicrobial therapy difficulties. Therefore, anti-resistance and antibiofilm strategies have currently become research hotspot to combat antimicrobial resistance. Although metallic nanoparticles can both kill bacteria and inhibit biofilm formation, the toxicity is still a big challenge for their clinical applications. In conclusion, rational use of the existing antimicrobials and combinational use of new strategies fighting against antimicrobial resistance are powerful warranties to preserve potent antimicrobial drugs for both humans and animals.