LIFT-project for innovative antibiotics and herbicides

Groningen researchers Prof. Anna Hirsch of the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry and Dr. Matthew Groves of the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy and Dr. Gudrun Lange of Bayer CropScience have been awarded the LIFT project ‘On the way to innovative antibiotics and herbicides Antibiotic’. The project was granted EUR 285,000 by the NWO Chemical Sciences.  Hirsch and Groves will design new molecules that inhibit an essential enzyme for the growth of pathogenic bacteria and weeds in a specific way.

LIFT is a new public-private partnership form that was introduced in 2015. A LIFT project involves at least one company and one research institute both working in chemical research. The NWO Chemical Sciences has contribute a total of EUR 1.5 million to eight LIFT projects and businesses match EUR 500,000.

On the way to innovative antibiotics and herbicides

Resistance to antibiotics and herbicides is currently a serious problem. The researchers will design new molecules that inhibit an essential enzyme for the growth of pathogenic bacteria and weeds in a specific way . To do so, they will first elucidate the structure of the enzyme, after which they will adopt a rational design approach to obtain new inhibitors. Ultimately, the inhibitors can be developed to better antibiotic or herbicides with a completely new mechanism of action.