Antibacterial Agents Flashcards
what is the germ theory of disease?
Proposes that microorganisms cause disease
what was the first effective treatment for syphilis?
Arsphenamine (Salvarsan)
what was the first widely available antimicrobial?
Prontosil
what marks the goldern era of antibiotics?
alexander flemming discovering penicillin
what is an antibiotic?
chemical substance that has capacity to inhibit growth of or kill bacterial cells
what is an antimicrobial?
agents that act against all types of microorganisms not just bacteria
what is the difference between a narrow spectrum and broad spectrum antibiotic?
narrow spectrum - effective against limited number
broad spectrum - effective against wider array
what is a con of broad spectrum bacteria?
increased development of resistance
disrupts normal microbiome
define bactericidal
kills bacteria
define bacteriostatic
inhibits growth of bacteria
what is selective toxicity?
antibiotic that is more harmful to bacterial cells than to host cells
what are the properties of an effective antibiotic?
selective toxicity, soluble in bodily fluids, toxicity not easily altered, nonallergenic, stability, bacterial resistance not easily acquired, reasonable cost
what are the 5 classes of antibiotics?
- inhibition of cell wall synthesis
- disruption of cell membrane function
- inhibition of protein synthesis
- inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis
- action as antimetabolites
what class are the following antibiotics in - B-lactams, vancomycin, and bacitracin?
inhibitors of cell wall synthesis
How are bacterial cell walls synthesized?
NAG and NAM get AA added to them > transported across cell membrane > AA side chains cross linked by transpeptidase > membrane formed
Are antibiotics that inhibit cell wall synthesis bactericidal or bacteriostatic?
bactericidal
How does cell wall inhibitors have selective toxicity?
prokaryotic cells dont have cell walls
What type of antibiotics are penicillin and cephalosporins?
B-lactam
what is the mode of action of B-lactam antibiotics?
binds to and blocks activity of transpeptidases, preventing cross-linking of peptidoglycan layers
what is the mode of action of vancomycin?
blocking transglycosylation and transpeptidation steps of peptidoglycan synthesis
which cell wall inhibitor antibiotic is a glycopeptide antibiotic?
vancomycin
what is the mode of action of bacitracin?
prevents dephosphorylation of bactoprenol (lipid carrier), preventing assembly and transport of NAG-NAM
how is bacitracin applied? why?
topical use only due to toxicity
what antibiotic disrupts the cell membrane?
polymyxins