抗生素研發的創新－－困境克服

Innovation of Antibiotic Agents: Dilemma Overcome

根據美國感染症醫學會(IDSA)於2004年調查報告顯示，抗藥性細菌的產生與抗生素研發的遲緩有關。以往抗生素的研發皆以一基本結構式為基礎，改變周邊鏈而衍生出新的抗生素。但不幸的是，多重抗藥細菌對抗生素產生抗藥性時，亦會對其衍生物產生抗藥性。因此，學者們便開始思考設計新的抗生素結構。新的抗生素結構來源可分為利用舊有的結構作為參考進行延伸，或是在自然界篩選及人工合成方式找尋新型態的抗生素結構，期盼抗生素的發展能建立一個新景象，以提升臨床上的治療效果。

In March 2004, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) expressed concern about the growing crisis of antibiotic-resistant infection attributable to the decreasing investment in antimicrobial research and development. The currently used antibiotics are derived from a limited number of molecular scaffolds, whose functional lifetimes have been prolonged by generations of synthetic tailoring. However, bacteria have developed resistance to the scaffold shared by this generation of antibiotics, thereby leading to the development of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Therefore, researchers have suggested that the discovery of new scaffolds should be a priority. Strategies for identifying new antibiotic scaffolds include modifying existing scaffolds and screening natural products or synthetic chemical products for novel antibiotic scaffolds. We hope that these strategies will lead to the development of new powerful antibiotics, which can successfully suppress the development of resistance.