​Our project addresses the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.  We hope to exploit bacteria's natural iron-uptake pathways by modifying iron-scavenging molecules called siderophores to bring toxic gallium ions into the bacterial cell, preventing further growth.  Mutations that block bacteria from uptaking our siderophore complex would also inhibit the uptake of iron.  Since the uptake of iron is a necessary function for survival, this method eliminates the selective pressure that causes antibiotic resistance. If our testing shows that our siderophore complex can kill bacteria without harming mammalian cells, it could replace antibiotics in several situations including biopharmaceutical and agricultural applications.