Modular platform to design bottromycin antibiotics
Official title: A Modular Synthetic Platform for Design of Bottromycin Antibiotics
Funded at Iowa State University · NIH-11441167 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new, scalable way to make bottromycin antibiotics and test smartly designed versions that could treat drug-resistant bacteria.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Iowa State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ames, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $383,669 |
| NIH project number | 1R21AI202333-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11441167 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are patients affected by drug-resistant bacterial infections and populations at risk of exposure to resistant pathogens.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without resistant infections may not directly benefit from this early-stage research.
What this research studies
This project will create a modular solid-phase peptide synthesis method to rapidly produce bottromycin antibiotics and related analogs. By enabling easier access to natural bottromycin derivatives, researchers can run more reliable antimicrobial tests and SAR studies. The aim is to identify bottromycin variants that interact with EF-Tu⋅tRNA in ways that bypass common resistance mechanisms, with scalable quantities for experiments. The work focuses on translating a complex natural product into a practical tool for developing new antibiotics.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could benefit from new antibiotics that work through a different mechanism, helping to fight drug-resistant infections.
How similar studies have gone: Similar work on bottromycins and modular synthesis has shown the promise of accessible analogs, though this approach aims to advance scalability and SAR.
Where this research is happening
-
Iowa State University
Ames, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Vanveller, Brett — Iowa State University
- Study coordinator: Vanveller, Brett
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.