antimicrobials

what is an antibiotic?

a chemical compound produced by a microorganism that can either kill or inhibit other bacteria

What is an antimicrobial agent?

an agent to treat bacterial infections

What is a synthetic compound?

a compound manufactured with an artificial substance

What is a semi-synthetic compound?

a natural compound that is chemically altered

What are target sites?

Sites for interruption of structural integrity or for metabolic function

What are some antibiotics that target the cell wall?

Beta-lactams like penicillin and cephalosporin

vancomycin

bacitracin

What is the mechanism of action behind beta lactams?

to interfere with peptidoglycan synthesis using PBP

what is the mechanism of action behind beta lactamases?

Utilizing an enzymatic ring to inactivate an antimicrobial agent

• typically used by bacteria to stop beta lactams

What is the mechanism of action behind bacitracin?

Disruption of the cytoplasmic membrane

What are some antibiotics that inhibit protein synthesis?

aminoglycosides, tetracycline, macrolides

What are some antibiotics that inhibit nucleic acids?

Rifampin (DNA transcription), metronidazole, quinolones (DNA replication)

What are some antibiotics that inhibit folate production?

sulfonamides

How can bacteria resist antibiotics?

prevent uptake, efflux them out, modify the target site of the antibiotic, inactivate the antibiotic with enzymes

What are some intrinsic mechanisms of resistance?

biofilms, efflux, enzymatic activation, impermeability

What are some mechanisms of acquired resistance?

target site mutation, ribosome mutation

How do bacteria spread resistance?

conjugation, transformation, transduction

What are the classes of beta lactams? Which is the broadest spectrum?

penicillin, cephalosporin, carbapenems, bacitracin

• carbapenem is the broadest

Beta lactamases that are provided in conjunction with beta lactams are considered to have what type of effect?

Synergistic

What is the mechanism of action behind nitrofurantoin?

Treats UTIs caused by enterococcus and GNR

What is the mechanism of action behind quinupristin and dalfopristin?

Synergistic effect to take down the 50S ribosomal subunit for vancomycin resistant bacteria