The Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) as an innovative tool to evaluate the bioactivity of anti-infective natural products

A large number of natural products (NPs) have been characterised by promising and selective activities against a variety of infectious pathogens. Nevertheless, the development of leads from natural origin to clinically applicable therapeutics is a tedious and time-consuming process. Especially the initial identification of a target protein and of a potential mechanism of action of a bioactive lead from natural origin constitutes a relevant bottleneck in successful drug development. Although analytical techniques, e.g. the different “omics”-approaches, have simplified the elucidation of a NP´s mechanism of action, the large data sets yielded by those experiments are commonly difficult to interpret concerning an underlying biochemical target. In order to mediate the alternative initial assessment of a NP´s target structure and subsequently of a potential mechanism of action, approaches analysing the nanoscopic morphology of pathogens before and after treatment with anti-infective NPs are presented. By the development of an innovative preparation technique, allowing facile and economic access to the internal ultrastructure of virtually any biological material by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), statistically relevant assessments of ultrastructural changes of pathogenic organisms induced by NP treatment became accessible in a timely manner. In order to present the relevance of the morphology-based assessment of a NP´s bioactivity, two exemplary studies on the mechanisms of action of anthelminthic tannins and quassinoids by AFM are discussed.

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Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. November 2023