Antibiotics and Chemotherapy
Antibiotics are special and unique type of chemotherapeutics agents
obtained from living organisms such as bacteria or fungi. The word antibiotic
refers to a metabolic product of one microorganism that in very small amounts
is detrimental or inhibitory to other microorganisms.
Antibiotics are special and unique type of chemotherapeutics agents
obtained from living organisms such as bacteria or fungi. The word antibiotic
refers to a metabolic product of one microorganism that in very small amounts
is detrimental or inhibitory to other microorganisms.
The first antibiotic that was discovered was Penicillin from the fungus, Pencillium sp. by Alexander Flemming in 1929. Since then hundreds of antibiotic substances have been isolated.
Antibiotics are of two types. 1. Broad spectrum antibiotics can
destroy or inhibit many different species of pathogens. 2. Narrow spectrum
antibiotics can destroy specifically some or few species of pathogens.
The mode of action of antibiotics may be either bactericidal or
bacteriostatic. The former destroys the microbial cells while the latter
inhibits the growth of them. Moreover, the antibiotics may inhibit cell wall
synthesis or disrupt the cell wall or damage the cytoplasmic membrane or
inhibit the protein synthesis and nucleic acid synthesis (purine and
pyrimidines); inhibit the specific enzyme systems and also inhibit the
metabolic pathway of pathogens through competitive inhibition of key
enzymes.
Some notable antibiotics are Ampicillin, Streptomycin, Tetracyclin
and Erythromycin etc. Some antifungal antibiotics are Griseofulvin and
Imidazole etc. Some antiviral antibiotics are Amantidine and Cycloguanosine.
The more promising chemotherapeutic agent for treating viral diseases is the
Interferon. Interferons are glycoprotein molecules secreted by the leucocytes
and fibroblasts. Some of the antitumour antibiotics are of the anthromycin
group.
Related Topics in Zoology:
Bio Zoology All Important Topics
- Microbiology Introduction and History of Medical Microbiology
- Pasteur, Koch, Lister
- Structure of Viruses
- Viral genetics
- Virus Culture
- Viral Diseases
- Bacteria Structure Culture
- Bacterial Genetics
- Bacterial Diseases
- Protozoan microbiology
- Pathogenecity of Microorganisms
- Antimicrobial Resistance
- Antibiotics and Chemotherapy
- AIDS – HIV