Antibiotic Coordination Frameworks against Antibiotic Resistance: How to Involve Students through Experimental Practices in the Search for Solutions to Public Health Problems

• Eva María Domínguez-Martín ^[4] ; Epole Ntungwe ^[4] ; Vera M. S. Isca ^[4] ; Salvatore Princiotto ^[1] ; Ana María Díaz-Lanza ^[2] ; Vânia André ^[3] ; Patrícia Ríjo ^[4]
  1. [1] University of Milan

     University of Milan

     Milán, Italia

     
  2. [2] Universidad de Alcalá

     Universidad de Alcalá

     Alcalá de Henares, España

     
  3. [3] Universidade de Lisboa

     Universidade de Lisboa

     Socorro, Portugal

     
  4. [4] CBIOS − Universidade Lusófona’s Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Portugal

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• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 101, Nº 5, 2024, págs. 2045-2051
• Idioma: inglés
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  • For decades, multiple varieties of antibiotics have been successfully used for therapeutic purposes. Nevertheless, antibiotic resistance is currently one of the major threats to global health. This work presents an innovative laboratory practice carried out in an inorganic medicinal chemistry course within the Degrees of Pharmacy and Biochemistry for undergraduate students. This experiment includes three classes of 2 h each. The first class consisted of the mechanochemical synthesis of an antibiotic coordination framework (ACF) using a known antibiotic (nalidixic acid) and zinc as the ligand. The prepared Zn-nalidixic acid ACF (Zn-ACF) was obtained in up to 82% yield with high purity. On the second day, the synthesized Zn-ACF was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Finally, during the last class, the antimicrobial activity was tested against Escherichia coli by the well diffusion method. The students verified the higher antimicrobial activity of Zn-ACF compared to nalidixic acid, proving that small changes in the chemical structure can result in great biological differences. In the end, the students presented their results in a poster format, encouraging the development of their soft skills and scientific results communication and dissemination. In the future, it is expected that such a laboratory experiment at the interface between medicinal chemistry, microbiology, analytical techniques, public health, and pharmacology will lead to the development and implementation of some service-learning practices and will serve as a model to look at for other courses and institutions.