L19 Flashcards
Antimicrobial agents
Agents that kill or inhibit growth of microbes
Physical or chemical - have no or low selectivity
Chemical antimicrobial agents
- chemotherapeutic agents = antimicrobial drugs or antimicrobials, including:
- antibiotics = microbial products or derivatives e.g. penicillin
- synthetic antimicrobials e.g. sulphonamides
The modern era began with the work of German physician Paul Ehrlich. What did he do
- Dyes can bind to microbial cells
- 1910: magic bullet- arsenic based salvarsan to treat SYPHILIS
1927: GERARD DOMAGK discovered what
- Prontosil red, a coal-tar dye for staining
leather, had antibiotic properties - treat streptococcus infections
- active ingred: sulphanilamide
1928: The first antibiotic, penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming
- S. aureus with mould that killed staphylococcus
- mould: Penicillium notatum, which produced penicillin G – diffused into agar – lysed bacteria
Florey & Heatley
- improved penicillin
1944: next was streptomycin
TB drug
Broad spectrum
- inhibits/kills a broad range of microbes
- Tetracycline inhibits Gram-ve, Gram+ve, Chlamydia, Rickettsia
Narrow spectrum
- inhibits/kills narrow range of microbes
- specificity due to the differences in their cell envelope structures
Static agents
- growth is inhibited but no killing occurs
- upon removal of the agent the microbe will recover and resume growth
Chloramphenicol static or cidal
bacteriostatic
Cidal agents
- cidal agents result in irreversible microbe death, some cause cell lysis
Penicillins static or cidal
bactericidal
Antimicrobial drugs must be selectively toxic bc?
- kill or inhibit microbial pathogen
- damage host as little as possible
§ toxic dose:
dose at which drug becomes too toxic for the host
therapeutic dose:
dose needed to treat the infection
Therapeutic Index
Therapeutic dose
The ____ the therapeutic index, the better the chemotherapeutic agent
larger
targets of antibiotic action
- Inhibitors of protein synthesis
- Inhibitors of cell wall synthesis
- Metabolic antagonists/antimetabolites
- Inhibitors of DNA/RNA synthesis
- Cell membrane disruption