Antibiotics are a breakthrough for mankind and the current challenge

Antibiotics can stop bacterial infections in two main ways. The first type of antibiotics that can kill bacteria are called bactericidal antibiotics. The second type of antibiotic stops the growth and reproduction of bacteria called bacteriostatic antibiotics. Doctors use this weapon in case of bacterial infection according to the biological structure of the bacterium and the severity of the infection. Antibiotic resistance is one of the major crises of the present age, so it is necessary to know a little bit more specific information about antibiotics. Today we talk about the types of antibiotics.

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Since the discovery of penicillin in 1929, many newer types of antibiotics have been discovered, and these antibiotics can be differentiated based on their function and specific types. The active molecule of such a penicillin antibiotic is the beta-lactam ring. This beta-lactam ring binds to the bacterial cell wall, killing the bacteria. Currently, some of the popular antibiotics in this beta-lactam group are amoxicillin, cephalexin, etc. The next group of antibiotics to be discovered was called sulfonamides. The sulfonamides group temporarily stops the growth and reproduction of bacteria but cannot kill them. Examples of antibiotics in this group are sulfadiazine, sulfanilamide, etc.

Antibiotics of the aminoglycoside group were discovered in 1940, many of which we still use today, such as streptomycin, neomycin, kanamycin, and 20 other types of antibiotics. This aminoglycoside group can stop the production of bacterial proteins, killing the bacteria. Three antibiotics were discovered in the 1950's - tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and macrolides. All three of these antibiotics can temporarily stop bacterial protein synthesis but do not kill the aminoglycoside group. A well-known example of the tetracycline group is doxycycline, the famous examples of macrolides group are erythromycin and azithromycin. An example of a chloramphenicol group is chloramphenicol itself.

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Four new groups of antibiotics were discovered in the late 1950s and early '60s. Glycopeptides and enzymycin were introduced in the late 1950s. Antibiotics of the glycopeptides group inhibit bacterial cell wall formation and enzymycin stops RNA formation in bacteria. Examples of the glycopeptides group are vancomycin and the example of the vancomycin group is the rifamycin antibiotic. Two more antibiotics, quinolones and streptogramins, were introduced in the mid-1980s. Quinolones, on the other hand, block the production of bacterial DNA and RNA, while streptococci stop the production of bacterial proteins. Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic of the quinolones group, and pristinamycin is an example of the streptogramins group. Bactericidal type antibiotics of the four groups of glycopeptides, enzymycin, quinolones, and streptogrammins.
The 1980s and 1990s saw the emergence of two more important antibiotic groups - oxazolidinones and lipopeptides. The oxazolidinones group can temporarily stop the bacterial protein synthesis, and lipopeptides can destroy the bacterial cell membrane. Examples of the oxazolidinones group are linoleolide and daptomycin of the lipopeptides group. The oxazolidinone group is classified as a bacteriostatic antibiotic and the lipopeptides group is bactericidal.

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No major antibiotic groups have been discovered since 1986, but the variety of bacteria and the rapid rate at which antibiotic resistance develops is a matter of concern. That is in the next episode.