Lipophilic teicoplanin pseudoaglycon derivatives are active against vancomycin- and teicoplanin-resistant enterococci

A selection of nine derivatives of teicoplanin pseudoaglycon were tested in vitro against clinical vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus strains possessing vanA , vanB or both genes. The bacteria were characterized by PCR for the identification of their resistance genes. The tested compounds contain lipoic acid, different carbohydrates and aryl groups as lipophilic moieties. About one-third of the teicoplanin-resistant strains were shown to be susceptible to one or more of the glycopeptide derivatives.