In the fight against resistant bacteria, the need for methods that go beyond conventional antibiotics is becoming increasingly evident. Merve Yüce, a doctoral student and research assistant in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Istanbul Technical University, was part of a comprehensive research process aimed at computer-aided design and laboratory testing of next-generation antibiotics targeting the ribosome with the project she took part in during her master's degree at ITU. Yüce, who had the opportunity to transform the theoretical background he gained during his education into practice, deepened his scientific analysis competence with molecular modeling and dynamic simulation techniques. "It enabled me to turn the theoretical background of the graduate education I received at ITU into practice. I better understood the importance of computational methods in scientific research; I improved my communication and collaboration skills," says Merve.

In the project carried out under the umbrella of Istanbul Technical University within the scope of TÜBİTAK 1001 Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program, it was aimed to test new antibacterial compounds that can bind to bacterial ribosomes by silico design, in vitro testing and imaging by cryo-electron microscopy under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Özge Kürkçüoğlu Levitas. In the project, five different virtual libraries were scanned and molecules with high affinity for ribosomes were identified; Then, molecular dynamic analyzes of these compounds were performed. Promising candidates were tested in a laboratory environment and their effects on ribosome activities were examined. In the last stage of the study, cryo-EM techniques were used to visualize where and how the molecules bind to the ribosome.



The project outputs have a remarkable potential in terms of both academic and social impact. Within the scope of this research, which supports the thesis processes of one master's and three doctoral students, it has been published in an international peer-reviewed journal, more than one paper has been presented and preparations for new publications are ongoing. In addition, a patent or utility model application is targeted. The developed approach is not only limited to producing solutions to antibiotic resistance, but also to contribute to rapid drug development processes in health crises that require urgent solutions, such as pandemics.