Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be one of the deadliest infectious diseases with a rapid increase in multidrug-resistant cases. The discovery of new agents against tuberculosis is urgently needed. Thus, the research article focuses on the antituberculosis activity of a series of benzimidazolium compounds. The antituberculosis activities of compounds including benzimidazole core (7a-h) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain were tested in vitro using the BACTEC MGIT 960 system. The concentrations of benzimidazole compounds were adjusted to range from 0.25 to 4 μg/ml. The antituberculosis interactions of the compounds were investigated by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. The results revealed that only benzimidazolium salt 7h showed antituberculosis activity at MIC value of 2 μg/ml although the other compounds showed no antituberculosis activity. The docking data revealed that 7h could bind to InhA thus indicating its inhibition potential on the enzyme. Molecular dynamics simulation exhibited that 7h formed a stable complex with the enzyme and was able to remain inside the binding region of the enzyme. Besides, the pharmacokinetic and drug-likeness properties of the compounds were assessed through computational approaches. The compounds exhibited drug-like properties. Consequently, 7h could be a good candidate for the development of new TB drugs.

Group B streptococci (GBS) are microorganisms that cause various systemic infections. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the capsule serotypes, antibiotic resistance and phylogenetic similarity relationship between GBS isolates. One hundred and ten GBS isolates isolated from female patients who admit- ted to Adana City Hospital with various complaints were included in the study. Kirby -Bauer disc diffusion method was used for the antibiotic resistance patterns and evaluated with CLSI criteria. The genes ermB, ermTR, mefA for erythromycin resistance and linB genes for clindamycin resistance were investigated by multiplex PCR method. Multiplex PCR method was used for GBS capsule serotyping. Similarity relation- ship between the isolates was analyzed by pulsed -field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method. As a result of the study; all strains were found to be sensitive to penicillin and vancomycin. Erythromycin, clindamycin ofloxacin, and ceftriaxone resistance rates were observed as 60%, 11.8%, 6.4%, and 4.5%, respectively. The mefA gene was not found while 53% and 47% of the erythromycin -resistant isolates carried ermTR and ermB genes, respectively. The linB gene was not found in clindamycin-resistant GBS isolates. The capsule serotype distributions of GBSs were found as, Ib 42.7%, Ia 35.5%, III 10%, II 8.2%, and V 3.6%, respectively. In the analysis of the similarity relationships between GBS isolates with the PFGE method, no significant relationship was found. In conclusion, it was thought that more studies should be conducted to show the prevalence of GBS capsule serotypes and patterns of antibiotic resistance.

Tüberküloz, bulaşıcı hastalıklara bağlı ölümlerin başlıca nedenlerinden biridir. Tüberküloz tedavisinin uzun ve karmaşık olması, ilaç direncini yaygınlaşmaktadır. Tüberküloz tedavisinde umut olacak bazı benzimidazol türevi bileşiklerin antitüberküloz aktivite sergilediği bildirilmiştir. Çalışmada, referans M. tuberculosis H37Rv suşuna karşı sentezlenen benzimidazol çekirdeği içeren 3 farklı bileşiğin (A1: 1-(2-metilbenzonitril)-3-(naftalen-1-il-metil)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-3-yum klorür, A2: 1-(2-hidroksietil)-3-(2-(piperidinyum-1-il)etil klorür)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-3-yum bromür, A3: 1-(3-metilbenzil)-3-(2-(piperidin-1-il)etil)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-3-yum klorür) antitüberküloz aktivitesinin tespiti amaçlandı. Benzimidazol çekirdeği içeren bileşiklerin (A1, A2 ve A3), M. tuberculosis H37Rv suşuna karşı antitüberküloz aktiviteleri in vitro şartlarda BACTEC MGIT 960 sistemi kullanılarak araştırıldı. Çalışmada A1, A2 ve A3 bileşiklerinin M. tuberculosis H37Rv suşuna karşı herhangi bir antitüberküloz aktivite göstermediği tespit edildi. Sonuç olarak, farklı benzimidazol bileşikler sentezlenerek antitüberküloz aktivite çalışmalarının devam edilmesi gerektiği düşünülmektedir.