In a groundbreaking development, researchers at MIT have utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to identify a novel class of antibiotic candidates capable of combatting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The research team trained powerful deep learning models on data from over 39,000 chemical compounds screened for antibiotic activity against MRSA. Over 12 million commercially available compounds were then virtually screened, enabling the AI to flag thousands of potential antibiotics.
Experiments confirmed two compounds from this class were highly potent against MRSA and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE). Unlike conventional antibiotics that target specific proteins, these AI-discovered compounds appear to attack bacteria by dismantling molecular gradients across cell membranes, which could circumvent existing resistance genes. The candidates also exhibited remarkably low toxicity against human cells.