The development of potent antibacterial agents has become
increasingly
difficult as bacteria continue to evolve and develop resistance to
antibiotics. It is therefore imperative to find effective antimicrobial
agents that can address the evolving challenges posed by infectious
diseases and antimicrobial resistance. Using artificial transmembrane
ion transporters is an emerging and promising avenue to address this
issue. We report pyridyl-linked hetero hydrazones as highly efficient
transmembrane HCl symporters. These compounds offer an appropriate
HCl binding site through cooperative protonation, followed by recognition
of chloride ions. HCl transport by these compounds inhibits the growth
of different Gram-negative bacterial strains with high efficacy by
affecting the cell envelope homeostasis. This specific class of compounds
holds substantial promise in the ongoing pursuit of developing highly
efficient antibacterial agents.