Polikanov Lab featured in Nature and UIC Today: Lasso-shaped antibiotic co-developed by UIC evades standard drug resistance

Posted on March 27, 2025

A small molecule shaped like a lasso may be a powerful tool in the fight against infectious diseases, according to a new study in Nature co-authored by University of Illinois Chicago researchers.

Lariocidin, a peptide made by bacteria living in soil, was effective against several different microbes responsible for deadly infections. UIC researchers working with collaborators at McMaster University in Canada determined how the new antibiotic works and why the drug evades bacterial resistance.

The paper was co-authored by UIC postdoctoral researcher Dmitrii Travin and includes UIC co-authors Mankin, Elena Aleksandrova, Dorota Klepacki, Nora Vázquez-Laslop and Yury Polikanov.

You can read more about their work here:
News and Views by the Nature journal: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00901-x