Discovery of ‘molecular pencil sharpener’ could lead to new antibacterial agents and drugs to combat toxins

Picture a brand-new, unsharpened pencil. The graphite at its core can't be used for writing until a pencil sharpener chews away its wooden tip. Now picture microcin B17, an antibiotic that kills E. coli bacteria. Before being activated, it lies embedded in a structure called a prodrug, like the core of an unsharpened "molecular pencil." ["]

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