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In vitro Reversal of Antibiotic Resistance by Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid

Abstract

SOME cases of bacterial resistance to antibiotics may be a consequence of the development of a permeability barrier which prevents the antibiotic from reaching its site of action in the bacterial cell. Such permeability barriers have been thought to be responsible for the resistance of Escherichia coli and other Gram negative organisms to chloramphenicol1, actinomycin D (ref. 2), benzyl penicillin3 and vancomycin4. The permeability of several Gram negative organisms to a variety of unrelated compounds, including some antibiotics, can be increased by ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) (refs. 5–7). It seemed to be interesting to determine whether this compound can reverse antibiotic resistance of Gram negative pathogens.

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WEISER, R., ASSCHER, A. & WIMPENNY, J. In vitro Reversal of Antibiotic Resistance by Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid. Nature 219, 1365–1366 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2191365a0

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