N-Chlorotaurine, a Promising Future Candidate for Topical Therapy of Fungal Infections

N-Chlorotaurine (NCT) is a mild long-lived oxidant that can be applied to sensitive body regions as an endogenous antiseptic. Enhancement of its microbicidal activity in the presence of proteinaceous material because of transchlorination, a postantibiotic/postantifungal effect and antitoxic activity renders it interesting for treatment of fungal infections, too. This is confirmed by first case applications in skin and mucous membranes of different body sites. Recent findings of good tolerability of inhaled NCT suggest further investigations of this substance for treatment of bronchopulmonary diseases, where microorganisms play a role, particularly multi-resistant ones. The availability of a well-tolerated and effective inhaled antiseptic with anti-inflammatory properties could be a significant progress, in particular for chronic pulmonary diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cystic fibrosis.