Artificial polymers, like antibiotic peptides, need both hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains in their molecular structure to exert antibacterial activity. Now, researchers from Canada have synthesized a phosphonium polymer that challenges this view. As outlined in the journal Angewandte Chemie, their polymer salt contained no hydrophobic alkyl chains but still acted as an extraordinarily efficient biocide. A re-evaluation of established strategies in antibiotics polymer research might be necessary.