Chemical Screen for Vancomycin Antagonism Uncovers Probes of the Gram-Negative Outer Membrane

The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria is a formidable permeability barrier which allows only a small subset of chemical matter to penetrate. This outer membrane barrier can hinder the study of cellular processes and compound mechanism of action, as many compounds including antibiotics are precluded from entry despite having intracellular targets. Consequently, outer membrane permeabilizing compounds are invaluable tools in such studies. …