Class: -Lactam antibiotics

Examples: Penicillins (e.g. Penicillin V, amoxicillin), cephalosporins (e.g. cephalexin (oral))

Why they work:

-Lactams prevent the crosslinks from joining the tetra-peptide side chains
Inhibiting cell wall synthesis usually leads to the death of the cell
Osmotic pressure is high in the cell so any damage to the rigid cell wall usually
leads to the structural breakdown of the cytoplasmic membrane

Class: Bacterial Folate Antagonists

Examples: Sulphonamides (e.g. sulphanilamide), trimethoprim
Why they work:

We get folic acid through diet but bacteria make their own supply
This folate pathway is very important in cell metabolism
This is the selective toxicity target
They are competitive inhibitors, binding to intermediate molecules in the folate
pathway, preventing it from progressing further
Sulphonamides and trimethoprim block different processes and so can be used
together from increased efficacy (a sequential blockage)

Class: Aminoglycosides
Examples: streptomycin, gentamycin
Why they work:

Form ionic bonds to the cell surface

Penetrate the membrane and diffuse into the cytoplasm
Bind to the ribosomes
Distorts the shape of the ribosome by binding between the 30s and 50s subunits,
causing the misreading of the mRNA
The wrong tRNA comes in, resulting in a non-functional protein being synthesised
Must be injected, are kept for bad injections

Class: Tetracyclines
Examples: tetracycline
Why they work:

Prevent the attachment of the tRNA to the ribosome-mRNA complex

Prevents the addition of amino-acids to the peptide chain

They bind to calcium, and so arent used in children as they can build up in the
bones and teeth, causing a fault line

Example: Chloramphenicol
Why they work:

Binds to the bacterial ribosome (blocking peptidyl transferase)

This prevents amino-acids from being added

Example: Erythromycin
Why they work:

Stops the peptide bond from forming and prevents the translocation of the
ribosome along the mRNA

Often used for people who are allergic to penicillins

Example: Clindamycin
Why they work:

Similar mechanism of action to erythromycin, binding to the 50s subunit and

preventing the ribosomal translocation

Class: Fluoroquinolones
Examples: cirproflaxin (broad-spectrum), cinoxacin (narrower-spectrum)
Why they work:

Inhibit bacterial DNA gyrase enzyme

This enzyme catalyses the introduction of the negative supercoil into the DNA,
allowing transcription and translation

Synthetic antibiotics recently introduced into clinical practice, the first products
of rational drug design