QACBioAct is an interdisciplinary project that brings together scientists from different disciplines in search of new quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) with interesting biological activity.
In our studies, we design and synthesise QACs using natural compounds such as quinuclidine, which is isolated from the bark of the Chinchona plant. In addition to the antibacterial activity of QACs, we are also investigating their mechanism of action, which involves the bacterial membrane and other potential macromolecular intracellular targets. Recent studies show that environmental bacteria are acquiring resistance to QACs at an alarming rate and that this resistance is mostly, but not exclusively, related to the expression of Qac efflux pumps. The other part of our research is to investigate the mechanisms of resistance to QACs involving the transcription factor QacR, which regulates the expression of Qac efflux pumps.
