(June 1, 2015) There’s
an urgent demand for new antimicrobial compounds that are effective against
constantly emerging drug-resistant bacteria. Two robotic chemical-synthesizing
machines, named Symphony X and Overture, have joined the search. Their
specialty is creating custom nanoscale structures that mimic nature’s proven
designs. They’re also fast, able to assemble dozens of compounds at a time.
The machines are located in a laboratory on the fifth floor
of the Molecular Foundry, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Berkeley
Lab. They make peptoids, which are synthetic versions of peptides. Nature uses
peptides to build proteins, the workhorses of biology. Your body makes its own
peptides to fight infections, and many antimicrobial drugs are based on
peptides.