The siderophore–drug complex is recognized by specific siderophore receptors and is then actively transported across the outer mem- brane. The recently identified benefits of this strategy have led to the synthesis of a series of siderophore-based antibiotics.
Several studies have shown that sidero- phore–drug conjugates make it possible to design anti- biotics with improved cell transport and reduce the frequency of resistance mutants. Growing interest in siderophore–drug conjugates for the treatment of hu- man diseases including iron overload, cancer, and ma- laria has driven the search for new siderophore–drug complexes. This strategy may have special importance for the development of iron oxide nanoparticle-based therapeutics.