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JAC Advance Access published online on May 29, 2003
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, doi:10.1093/jac/dkg287
© 2003 by The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
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© 2003 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Original article

Susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to weak acids

Ying Zhang 1*, Hao Zhang 1, Zhonghe Sun 1

1 Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

* Corresponding author. E-mail: yzhang{at}jhsph.edu.

Received 21 January 2003 ; revised 11 April 2003 ; accepted 16 April 2003

Abstract

The susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis to a range of weak acids and acid pH was investigated. M. tuberculosis was found to be more susceptible to acid pH and weak acids than M. smegmatis. The weak acids were more active against M. tuberculosis at acid pH than at neutral pH. M. tuberculosis was found to be less able to maintain its internal pH and membrane potential at acid pH than M. smegmatis. The antituberculous activity of weak acids correlated with their ability to disrupt the membrane potential but not the internal pH. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to M. tuberculosis physiology and development of new antituberculous agents.

Keywords: weak acid, antimicrobial susceptibility, pH homeostasis, membrane potential, Mycobacterium tuberculosis
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