HLSC 3P19 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Antimicrobial Resistance, Beta-Lactam, Gram Staining
15 Dec 2019
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Document Summary
Antimicrobial agents: any of a large variety of chemical compounds and physical agents that are used to destroy microorganisms or to prevent their development. They provide one of the most complex and dramatic examples of the advances of modern medicine. Many infectious diseases once considered incurable and lethal are now amenable to treatment with a few doses of antibiotics. Their powerful and specific activity is due to their selectivity to targets that are either unique to prokaryote and fungal microorganisms or much more important in these organisms than in humans. Among those targets: bacterial and fungal cell walls synthesizing enzymes, the bacterial ribosome, the enzymes required for nucleotide synthesis and dna replication. Some antimicrobial agents are specific in the treatment of mycobacterial infections. Some others have a cytotoxic antiseptic and disinfectant role. However, there are emerging problems threatening the continued success of anti-microbial drugs: the development of resistant organisms (microorganisms) Surprisingly antibiotics were invented billions of years ago by bacteria.
