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Researchers from City St George's, University of London, have used a new ultra-high precision X-ray scattering technique to reveal the location and identity of metal ions in bacteria that are crucial for antibiotics to work optimally.

Many types of bacteria produce an enzyme molecule called topoisomerase IV, which disentangles and separates newly replicated DNA in complex structures within bacteria to enable the cells to divide and multiply.

Antibacterial drugs called fluoroquinolones—e.g., delafloxacin—that can kill a wide range of bacteria "seek out" magnesium ions and bind to this complex structure. Once bound, the drug exerts its lethal effects by blocking the topoisomerase from working, and ultimately prevents bacterial cells from multiplying.

By using X-ray beams at two defined energies, the team determined the exact location of drug- and enzyme-bound magnesium ions, and in a world-first, they identified the presence of potassium and chloride ions in the enzyme complex.

The researchers say that this breakthrough could initiate the development of new antibacterial drugs for an array of diseases.

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