Basic principles of Antimicrobials Flashcards
(21 cards)
What decade were antibiotics developed?
1930s–40s
What did antibiotics reduce in terms of health outcomes?
Infection-related morbidity/mortality
Name one challenge associated with antibiotics.
Limited drug response
Other challenges include toxicity and resistance.
Define chemotherapy.
Use of chemicals to fight infection or cancer
What is an antimicrobial?
Agent (natural/synthetic) that kills or suppresses microorganisms
What is an antibiotic?
Microbe-produced chemical harmful to other microbes (e.g., penicillin)
What does bacteriostatic mean?
Inhibit growth, depend on immune system to clear infection
What does bactericidal mean?
Kill organisms; may be static at low doses
What does MIC stand for?
Minimal Inhibitory Concentration
What is the MIC?
Lowest drug level to prevent growth
What does MBC stand for?
Minimal Bactericidal Concentration
What is the MBC?
Lowest drug level that kills 99.9%
What is bacterial resistance?
Microorganism’s ability to counteract drug effects
Name one mechanism of bacterial resistance.
Enzyme production (e.g., penicillinase)
What is selective toxicity?
Targets microbes without harming host
Why is selective toxicity important?
Indicates that the antibiotic is highly effective against the microbe and has minimal or no toxicity to the host
What is one mechanism by which antibiotics disrupt cell walls?
Weaken the cell wall allowing water to enter cell, causing it to swell and burst
What class of antibiotics disrupts cell walls?
Penicillins (beta lactam), cephalosporins
What do sulfonamides inhibit?
Unique enzymes needed by bacteria to make folic acid
How do antibiotics target bacterial ribosomes?
Disrupt the function of bacterial ribosomes and protein synthesis
True or False: Bacterial ribosomes differ in structure from those of mammalian cells.
True
