Single Atom Engineered Antibiotics Overcome Bacterial Resistance

The outbreak of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or "superbugs", poses a global public health hazard due to their resilience against the most effective last-line antibiotics. Identifying potent antibacterial agents capable of evading bacterial resistance mechanisms represents the ultimate defense strategy. This study shows that -the otherwise essential micronutrient- manganese turns into a broad-spectrum potent antibiotic when coordinated with a carboxylated nitrogen-doped graphene. This antibiotic material (termed NGA-Mn) not only inhibits the growth of a wide spectrum of multidrug-resistant bacteria but also heals wounds infected by bacteria in vivo and, most importantly, effectively evades bacterial resistance development. NGA-Mn exhibits up to 25-fold higher cytocompatibility to human cells than its minimum bacterial inhibitory concentration, demonstrating its potential as a next-generation antibacterial agent. Experimental findings suggest that NGA-Mn acts on the outer side of the bacterial cell membrane via a multimolecular collective binding, blocking vital functions in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The results underscore the potential of single-atom engineering toward potent antibiotics, offering simultaneously a long-sought solution for evading drug resistance development while being cytocompatible to human cells.