Acridine - a neglected antibacterial chromophore

The use of acridines as antimicrobial agents was first proposed by Ehrlich and Benda in 1912, and the first clinical use of these agents occurred in 1 917, Many compounds containing the acridine chromophore were synthesized an d tested, and the aminoacridines bound wide use, both as antibacterial agen ts and as antimalarials, during World War II. The emergence of the penicill ins eclipsed the acridines in antisepsis due to the greater therapeutic eff icacies of the former. However, with the current massive increases in drug- resistant bacterial infection, new acridine derivatives may be of use. In a ddition, the topical utilization of aminoacridines in conjunction with dire cted low-power light offers bactericidal action at much lower doses.