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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #383948
Research Project: Chemical Conversion of Biomass into High Value Products

Location: Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research

Title: Naturally derived fatty acid based antibacterial agents

Author
item Yosief, Hailemichael
item Sarker, Majher

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/13/2021
Publication Date: 10/27/2021
Citation: Yosief, H.O., Sarker, M.I. 2021. Naturally derived fatty acid based antibacterial agents. In: Sarker, M.I., Liu, L., Yadav, M.P. Yosief, H.O., Hussain, S.A., editors. Conversion of Renewable Biomass into Bioproducts. Volume 1392. ACS Symposium Series. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society. p.91-117.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Fatty acids are naturally abundant molecules with a wide spectrum of biological activities. Even though fatty acids had been known for their antimicrobial properties for a long time, they have not been at the forefront of fighting infectious diseases. The effort to develop fatty acid based antimicrobial agents faded away with the introduction of effective antibiotics that can treat and prevent infectious diseases. However, with the alarming and rapid bacterial resistance development against many antibiotics, there is considerable interest to develop fatty acid based antimicrobial agents. In this chapter the antibacterial properties of free fatty acids and their monoglycerides as well as chemically modified fatty acid derivatives will be presented. The chapter will mainly focus on the recent research efforts made to develop fatty acid based antibacterial agents against the medically relevant and drug-resistant bacterial pathogens. The intention is to update the reader on the recently reported antibacterial properties of fatty acids and to stimulate further research in utilizing fatty acids as renewable starting materials to develop antibacterial agents through chemical transformations.