Kill or inhibit the growth of pathogens Cause no damage to the host Cause no allergic reaction in the host Be stable

ble when stored in solid or in liquid form Remain in specific tissues in the body long enough

to be effective Kill the pathogens before they mutate and become resistant to it

 Produce allergic reaction

Permit development of resistant mutant

pathogens

An antimicrobial agent must inhibit or destroy the pathogen without damaging the host. To accomplish this The agent must target a metabolic process or structure possessed by the pathogen but not possessed by the host (the infected person)

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

Inhibition of cell wall synthesis Damage to cell membranes Inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis (either DNA or RNA) Inhibition of protein synthesis Inhibition of enzyme activity

Inhibit the production of folic acid ( a vitamin) in those bacteria that require p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) to synthesize folic acid. Has a similar shape with that of PABA.

Competitive inhibitors Bacteriostatic, meaning they inhibit the growth of bacteria

 these includes the streptococci and staphylococci penicillin interferes with the synthesis and cross-

linking of peptidoglycan, a component of bacterial cell walls

Antibiotics like VANCOMYCIN destroys only gram-positive bacteria COLISTIN and NALIDIXIC acid destroys only gram negative bacteria They are also known as NARROW- SPECTRUM ANTIBOITICS. Those that can destroy both gram-negative and grampositive bacteria are called BROAD-SPECTRUM ANTIBIOTICS.

 host defense mechanism is functioning properly whose bodies are capable of killing the

microorganism in the body

When a person is leukopenic ( abnormally low white blood cells)

 two or more drugs are used simultaneously to kill

all the pathogens and to prevent resistant mutant pathogens from emerging

 multidrug resistant strains of Mycobacterium

tuberculosis are frequently encountered four drugs ( isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and either ethambutol or streptomycin) are routinely prescribed, and as many as 12 drugs may be required for especially resistant strains

Antagonism
- when two drugs are prescribed - actually works against each other - is a bad thing pathogen killing is less than achieved

It is more difficult to use antimicrobial drugs against fungal and protozoal pathogens because they are eucaryotic cells; thus, the drugs tend to be more toxic to the patient.

o B y binding with cell membrane sterols ( e. g.

nystatin and amphotericin) o By interfering with sterol synthesis (e. g. clotrimazole and miconazole) o By blocking mitosis or nucleic acid synthesis (e.g. griseofulvin and 5- flucytosine)

- quite toxic to the host and work by..

1. interfering with DNA and RNA synthesis (e.g. chloroquine, pentamidine, quinacrine) 2. interfering with protozoal metabolism (e.g. metronidazole; brand name Flagyl)