About

I am a Marie Skłodowska Curie Post-Doctoral Fellow working at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE) in the field of medicinal chemistry, with particular attention in the design and development of new β-lactamase inhibitors. My research mainly focuses on the discovery of novel boronic acids as BlaC enzyme inhibitors to treat β-Lactam antibiotics resistant in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (Mtb). Throughout my scientific career, I have always expressed a strong interest in the study of antimicrobial resistance, the modes of action of β-lactamases and the discovery of novel antibiotics.

Currently, my work focuses on the discovery of new BlaC enzyme inhibitor, the Serine-Beta-Lactamase responsible for the Beta Lactam Antibiotic (BLA) resistance in Mtb.

BLA are the most widely used and safest antibiotics in the clinic and include several classes such as penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems. However, historically these agents have not been used to treat TB. There are two mechanisms of resistance to BLA in Mtb: the cell envelope rich in lipoglycans which acts as a barrier for the penetration of many drugs, including BLA, and the expression of BlaC, a specific Beta-lactamase enzyme capable of hydrolyze and inactivate the BLA. However, recent studies have shown that the combination of meropenem, amoxicillin and clavulanate (a Beta-Lactamase inhibitor) markedly reduced the Mtb load in the patient’s sputum after two weeks, therefore giving new hope to the use of BLA to tackle the tuberculosis epidemic.

During this project, I aim to develop new compounds that behave as BLA adjuvant for anti-Mtb treatment with a dual mechanism of action. We will design and synthesize novel Boronic Acid Transition State Inhibitors (BATSIs) as inhibitors of BlaC, the Beta-lactamase expressed in Mtb, and investigate whether they can be derivatized to become disrupting agents of Mtb’s unique outer “capsule” made of lipoglycans, to promote better penetration of drugs into the cell.