Light-activated molecular machines are new mode-of-action, fast-acting broad-spectrum antibacterials that target the membrane

Light-activated molecular machines (MNM) are synthetic molecular structures that, following light activation, undergo successive unidirectional rotation that results in a drilling-like rapid motion that can thrust the motor through biological membranes.Visible light (405 nm) activated MM were investigated for their antibacterial potential and their mechanism of action was investigated by RNAseq. Overall design: E. coli BW25113 was treated with 1% DMSO (CT) or 0.5x MIC of MNM and then irradiated with 405 nm light. RNA was isolated using the RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA). RNA-Seq libraries were constructed using TruSeq Stranded Total RNA with Ribo-Zero Plus rRNA Depletion Kit and sequenced on the Illumina NovaSeq6000 platform (Illumina, San Diego, CA). An average of 70 million reads was obtained for each sample.