Antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activity of glycerol dithionomonolaurate, an analog of glycerol monolaurate

Fungi and many bacteria commonly develop resistance to antimicrobial agents or have inherent resistance. Many microbes initiate infections through the skin and mucous membranes, in part by producing toxins and causing harmful inflammation. We describe a novel topical antimicrobial agent, glycerol dithionomonolaurate (NB2), effective against <i>Candida</i> and a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria; the compound did not kill normal microbiome lactobacilli. NB2 is likely to have many microbial targets for killing, suggesting resistance to the molecule may not develop. At sub-antibacterial concentrations, glycerol dithionomonolaurate inhibited exotoxin production by <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>. The molecule was not inactivated by staphylococcal lipase. Glycerol dithionomonolaurate effectively treated <i>S. aureus</i> dermatitis in a rabbit skin model and reduced chemokine production by human epithelial cells. Glycerol dithionomonolaurate may prove useful to treat many types of skin and mucous membrane infections by both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities, such as in atopic dermatitis.