The Project Prepared by ETÜ Qualifies for Support

A project developed in Erzurum Teknik Üniversitesi (ETÜ) laboratories has been selected for support under the Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program 1001 of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. The project titled "Design, Characterization and Investigation of Biological Functions of Small, Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides under in vitro and in vivo Conditions," prepared by Dr. Ayşenur Yazıcı, faculty member at the ETÜ Faculty of Science, aims to validate peptides whose properties have been determined bioinformatically through in vitro and in vivo studies, and to identify new antibiofilm peptides that can be used against antibiotic resistance. The project, which also includes Associate Professor Serkan Örtücü and Dr. Mehmet Enes Arslan as researchers, will additionally involve 3 graduate students as scholarship recipients. Project director Dr. Ayşenur Yazıcı, noting that antibiotic resistance has become a global health problem today, stated: "Improper, excessive and unnecessary use of antibiotics is an important factor in the development of antibiotic resistance. However, horizontal gene transfer between bacteria, mutations, modification of drug targets and biofilm formation are considered important factors in the development of resistance mechanisms. Particularly in biofilm-related infections, the inadequacy of antibiotics demonstrates the necessity of addressing this problem seriously. More than 80 percent of infections today are reported to be biofilm-related. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) developed to solve this problem are potential next-generation drug candidates for use against antibiotic resistance," he stated.