SB5k-l Flashcards
What are antibiotics?
Chemical substances that kill bacteria or stop them from multiplying by asexual reproduction. They do not destroy viruses.
What would happen if antibiotics are not used correctly?
The bacteria can easily develop resistance against the antibiotics if not used correctly.
Why can antibiotics not destroy viruses?
They kill by attacking the peptidoglycan cell wall of the bacteria and viruses do not have a cell wall, therefore cannot affect them.
What are clinical trials?
Several stages of testing new antibiotics before releasing them in the market, in order to be safe for humans.
What are the 5 stages of clinical trials?
- Pre-clinical trials
- Tested on animals
- Clinical trial Phase I
- Clinical trial Phase II
- Clinical trial Phase III
What happens in the pre-clinical trial stage?
The antibiotic is tested on cells and tissues to see if the bacteria are destroyed.
What happens in the animal testing stage?
The antibiotic is tested on full body organism such as an animal to see how the drug interacts with the whole organism.
What happens during the clinical trial Phase I stage?
The drug is tested on small number of healthy individuals and inserted at a low concentration to monitor any toxic effects. Checks safety.
What happens during the clinical trial Phase II stage?
The drug is tested on small number of patients. Effectiveness of treatment is monitored.
What happens during the clinical trial Phase III stage?
Double-blind trials occur. Drug is tested on large number of patients. This stage is to find the correct dose and check any side effects.
What are double-blind trials?
Some people take the actual drug, while others take a placebo (sugar-coated pill with no effect). Doctors and patients do not know who is taking the drug and who isn’t, to reduce bias and see if drug works and is better than an old one.
What are monoclonal antibodies?
Identical antibodies that recognise a specific antigen.
How are monoclonal antibodies made?
- Antigen is injected into mice to activate the desired lymphocyte that produces the antibodies for the specific antigen.
- At the same time cancer cells are grown onto a medium.
- The lymphocytes are harvested from the mice.
- The cancer cells and lymphocytes are fused together to produce a hybridoma cell.
- These hybridoma cells divide and make antibodies against that specific antigen, known as monoclonal antibodies.
What are 2 uses of monoclonal antibodies?
- They can detect and bind onto: platelets, cancer cells, hormones, enzymes and antigens.
- They can detect and treat cancer.
How can monoclonal antibodies treat cancer?
Radioactive monoclonal antibodies can bind onto cancer cells in the body using a PET scan to detect the location of cancer cells. They can also destroy cancer cells by recognising the antigens, binding onto them and then killing the cancer cells.
