MICROBIOLOGY- Antimicrobial agents Flashcards
Define antibiotics
They are the products f microbes that, in dilute solution, inhibit or kill other organisms
Define antimicrobial agents
These include antibiotics and synthetic compounds that have the same effect
What can we do to naturally occurring antibiotics
We can modify them to give semi synthetics derivatives
How can modified antibiotics differ from their parent compound
In they antimicrobial activity or their pharmacological properties
What 2 effects can antimicrobial agents have?
- They can inhibit microbial growth
2. They can kill microbes
Define static
Agents that inhibits microbial growth
Define cidal
Agents that kill microbes
How do we carry out susceptibility testing
We grow the bacteria in agar
Then we place disks with varying concentrations of antibiotic solution in the agar and see what reaction that causes with the bacterial culture
Name an alternative susceptibility test to the disk method
Absylum test strip (e test strip)
How does the absylum (e ) test strip work
It is a plastic strip with a carefully controlled gradient of the drug to be tested
The greater the area of inhibitor the greater the susceptibility the drug is to the bacteria
If you are doing a susceptibility test and you see small colonies of bacteria growing in the zones of clearing what does this mean?
It means those bacteria are resistant to the drug and require urgent further investigation
What does MIC stand for in microbiology
Minimum inhibitory concentration
What is the Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)
It is the lower concentration of antibiotic that prevents visible growth of a particular bacterium
What does MBC stand for in microbiology
Minimum bactericidal concentration
What is the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)
The lowest concentration of antibiotic that kill a particular bacterium
How are MIC and MBC values determined?
By using dilution methods
What do we mean when we describe drugs as being synergistic?
Means they work together
What do we mean when we describe drugs as being antagonistic?
They work against each other
Why are bacteria good targets for the activity go antimicrobial substances
As apexes of their metabolism are significantly different from that of humans
What provides the basis for the selective toxicity of antibiotics?
The fact that antibiotics may act up bacterial reaction that are not found in human cells
Why is selective toxicity important?
Important so that antibiotics target bacteria and not human cells
What are the problems with selective toxicity in the case of penicillin
Penicillin allergies arise due to the presence of the thiazolidine ring within the penicillin structure
Fungi and protist metabolism is closer to bacteria or humans?
Humans
What do viruses depend on to be able to replicate
Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that depend almost exclusively upon human metabolism for their replication