The rise of multiresistant bacteria is a serious and urgent threat, especially in hospitals where antibiotics are permanently used and bacteria strains easily evolve that withstand multiple antibiotic classes. Infections by Gram-positive pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumonia (PRSP) are particularly worrying.

Platencin is a novel antibiotic that is active against multiresistant pathogens. J. Mulzer et al., University of Vienna, Austria, describe the efficient syntheses of three platencin analogues of varying activities, which allow further conclusions about the pharmacophoric part of the molecule. The unnatural antibiotic iso-platencin, which is about as active as natural platencin (a novel antibiotic which is active against multiresistant pathogens), but much more selective, was identified as a new lead structure.

• Syntheses and Antibacterial Properties of iso-Platencin, Cl-iso-Platencin and Cl-Platencin: Identification of a New Lead Structure
  K. Tiefenbacher, A. Gollner, J. Mulzer, 
  Chem. Eur. J. 2010, 16 (31).
  DOI: 10.1002/chem.201000706