Rethinking Antibiotic Design: A Novel "Trojan Horse" Approach to Combat Superbugs
Uncovering New Targets in the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance
Prof Liu Xuewei
MOE AcRF Tier 3 Awardee
NTU School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
Congratulations to Prof Liu Xuewei, who was recently awarded a Tier 3 grant under the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) Academic Research Fund (AcRF). It is a competitive, high-value grant scheme that supports large-scale, multidisciplinary research programmes aimed at driving game-changing scientific discoveries and building long-term research excellence in Singapore's autonomous universities.
Prof Liu’s team seeks to uncover the fundamental mechanisms of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis and translate these insights into the discovery of novel antibiotics with completely new modes of action. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a pressing global threat because it allows microorganisms to evolve beyond the reach of existing medicines, rendering everyday infections untreatable and fundamentally undermining the safety of modern medical procedures. This is where Prof Liu Xuewei and his team aims to develop novel antibiotics using a different strategy.
His team’s research is built on a “Trojan Horse” strategy, in which designed molecules will be recognized as substrates by the bacterial biosynthetic machinery and destroy the cell wall integrity. Unlike conventional antibiotics that inhibit essential enzymes, this substrate-based mechanism may impose lower selective pressure for the development of resistance. This conceptually new strategy will unlock a new world of possibilities in antibiotic design, offering the potential to revolutionize infectious disease treatment in modern medicine.
Collaborators for this grant
Principal Investigator:
• Prof. Liu Xuewei (NTU Singapore)
Co-Investigators:
• Prof. Duan Hongwei (NTU Singapore)
• Prof. Liang Zhaoxun (NTU Singapore)
• Prof. Sanjay Haresh Chotirmall (LKCMedicine / NTU Singapore)
• Prof. Qiao Yuan (NTU Singapore)
• Prof. Koh Ming Joo (National University of Singapore)
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Content by Sumita Thiagarajan, NTU CCEB
