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An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms (microbicide) or stops their growth (bacteriostatic agent). [1] Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals are used against fungi. They can also be classified ...
However, both classes have the same effect of killing or preventing the growth of microorganisms, and both are included in antimicrobial chemotherapy. "Antibacterials" include bactericides , bacteriostatics , antibacterial soaps , and chemical disinfectants , whereas antibiotics are an important class of antibacterials used more specifically in ...
The antimicrobial spectrum of an antibiotic can be determined by testing its antimicrobial activity against a wide range of microbes in vitro. Nonetheless, the range of microorganisms which an antibiotic can kill or inhibit in vivo may not always be the same as the antimicrobial spectrum based on data collected in vitro. [2] [5]
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also called host defence peptides (HDPs) are part of the innate immune response found among all classes of life. Fundamental differences exist between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells that may represent targets for antimicrobial peptides .
Breakpoints for the same organism and antibiotic may differ based on the site of infection: [29] for example, the CLSI generally defines Streptococcus pneumoniae as sensitive to intravenous penicillin if MICs are ≤0.06 μg/ml, intermediate if MICs are 0.12 to 1 μg/ml, and resistant if MICs are ≥2 μg/ml, but for cases of meningitis, the ...
Same mode of action as other beta-lactam antibiotics: disrupt the synthesis of the peptidoglycan layer of bacterial cell walls. Cefazolin: Ancef, Kefzol: Cephradine: Cephapirin: Cephalothin: Cefalexin: Keflex: Cephalosporins (Second generation) Cefaclor: Distaclor, Ceclor, Raniclor: Less Gram-positive cover, improved Gram-negative cover.
Antibacterial may also refer to: Antiseptic , a principal type of antimicrobial agent used mainly against bacteria; it may kill or inhibit them Disinfectant , an agent to impair microbes in cleaning/sanitation but not taken internally as medicine; it may kill or inhibit them
As antiseptics (i.e., germicide agents that can be used on human or animal body, skin, mucosae, wounds and the like), few of the above-mentioned disinfectants can be used, under proper conditions (mainly concentration, pH, temperature and toxicity toward humans and animals).