selective toxicity

selective toxicity

the idea that a chemical agent or drug can exert a toxic effect on a pathogen and leave the infected host organism unharmed

antimicrobial drugs such as penicillin, metronidazole, and chloramphenicol interact with cellular components that are only found in their

target organism

interacting with only the cellular components found in their target organism allows the agent to exert its effect only on the cells that

carry the target component

as microorganisms mutate, changes to the

target component may occur

changes to the target component may cause

the drug to no longer exert its toxic effect

if the antimicrobial agent is present and actively killing off unmutated competing sister cells at the time

the mutated cell may have a survival advantage

the proliferation of mutant cells can lead to

antimicrobial resistance

antimicrobial resistance can worsen if

the resistant gene is transferred to other microorganisms

are disinfectant agents selectively toxic

no

disinfectant agents target

all proteins, lipids, organic compounds etc… no specific target

are antiseptic agents selectively toxic

no

antiseptic agents target

all proteins, lipids, organic compounds etc, however safe for external use on skin

are antimicrobial agents selectively toxic

yes

antimicrobial agents target

binds or in activated by a specific target found only in target organism

safe for internal administration