Bacterial intracellular enzymes and thiol-containing proteins

Bacterial intracellular enzymes and thiol-containing proteins represent a broad class of targets for various antimicrobial agents, particularly heavy metal compounds (DrugBank DB09101). These targets include a wide range of enzymes and structural proteins that contain essential sulfhydryl (thiol) groups, which are critical for their catalytic function, redox regulation, or structural integrity (NCATS, 2022). Antimicrobial agents like silver and mercury ions exert their effects by covalently binding to these thiol groups, causing the inactivation of vital metabolic pathways such as respiration and glycolysis (PubMed: 31515255). This interaction also leads to protein denaturation and the induction of oxidative stress through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ScienceOpen, 2023). While highly effective as broad-spectrum antiseptics and preservatives, these targets lack specificity, as human proteins also contain similar thiol motifs, which limits their use primarily to topical applications or low-concentration preservatives to avoid systemic toxicity (CDC, 2025).

Other names

Bacterial thiol proteinsBacterial intracellular enzymesThiol-dependent enzymesSulfhydryl-containing proteins

Covalent binding to sulfhydryl (-SH) groups of bacterial enzymes and proteins, leading to inactivation of metabolic pathways, denaturation of proteins, and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).