Quirky chemical compounds called ionic liquids can defeat the tricky defenses of bacteria and skin and help bring antibiotics to infections that can lead to discomfort, amputations and sometimes death, a new study finds.
“This work is a further demonstration of the potential of ionic liquids not only as a source of much needed chemical diversity in the hunt for new designer antimicrobial agents but also to enhance the activity of conventional antimicrobial agents,” says Brendan Gilmore, a microbiologist at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland.
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