Аңдатпа
Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem in modern medicine, posing a threat to the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing number of infections. One way to address this problem is to use substances that potentiate the action of previously inactive antibiotics. Potentiators represent an alternative to the development of new antibiotics. The purpose of the study. To study the potential use of substances that act as antibiotic potentiators and to evaluate the mechanisms of bacterial resistance to these substances. Materials and Methods. A systematic literature search was conducted in the international databases Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, covering publications from the past 5 years. Articles available in open access were included in the analysis, while preprints, duplicates, and overlapping publications were excluded. Inclusion criteria allowed peer-reviewed reviews and original research articles. The search for relevant publications was conducted using the keywords «antibiotic potentiator», «antibiotic adjuvant», and «antibiotic resistance». More than 1,000 articles were identified during the identification stage. Duplicate articles and publications not relevant to the study topic were excluded during screening, after which 117 articles were selected for analysis. At the final stage, 37 publications were included in the final review based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results. Data analysis showed that the use of antibiotic potentiators can resuscitate resistant bacterial strains. The most promising potentiators are those that act as membrane permeabilizers, efflux pump inhibitors, and β-lactamase inhibitors. Conclusions. Antibiotic potentiators represent an innovative approach aimed at restoring the activity of existing drugs against resistant pathogens. However, the widespread clinical adoption of potentiators is fraught with challenges (toxicity, regulatory barriers, difficulty co-delivering with antibiotics, and potential for resistance to adjuvants). To overcome these barriers, further targeted research and support from the international community are needed. Antibiotic potentiators are not just a theoretical concept, but a real tool capable of winning time in the race against superbugs.