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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 ...
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of such infections. [1] [2] They may either kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Infections caused by anaerobic bacteria; also amoebiasis, trichomoniasis, giardiasis: Discolored urine, headache, metallic taste, nausea; alcohol is contraindicated: Produces toxic free radicals that disrupt DNA and proteins. This non-specific mechanism is responsible for its activity against a variety of bacteria, amoebae, and protozoa ...
These natural compounds were not found to be potent enough to use as antimicrobial agents but with chemical methods and removal of the natural side chain it was possible to produce 7-aminocephalosporanic acid which could be further fit with unnatural side chains. 7-ACA is analogous to 6-aminopenicillanic acid , a starting block for making ...
An agar plate streaked with microorganisms. Despite the wide variety of known antibiotics, less than 1% of antimicrobial agents have medical or commercial value.For example, whereas penicillin has a high therapeutic index as it does not generally affect human cells, this is not so for many antibiotics.
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 .
β-Lactam antibiotics are indicated for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible organisms. At first, β-lactam antibiotics were mainly active only against gram-positive bacteria, yet the recent development of broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics active against various gram-negative organisms has increased their usefulness.
Each newer generation has significantly greater Gram-negative antimicrobial properties than the preceding generation, in most cases with decreased activity against Gram-positive organisms. Fourth-generation cephalosporins, however, have true broad-spectrum activity.