Antibiotic Sensitivity Lab Essay

The outlook on antibiotics has changed dermadicly since we have fist started using them. Antibiotics is a substance that is produced by a microorganism that can kill or prevent the growth of another microorganism. The major conflict that will be covered in the paper is antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics resistance

Modern-day advances have allowed scientists to develop methods to control pathogens. The more common methods include the use of antiseptics, antibiotics, and vaccines. By definition, antiseptics are chemicals used to kill pathogens. A few widespread antiseptics include soap, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. Antiseptics are primarily used for the external destruction of pathogens, while antibiotics and vaccines target internal pathogens. Nevertheless, there are and can be difficulties concerning the use of antibiotics. “As antibiotic use has become more common, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have evolved.” This resistance due to evolution is called antibiotic resistance. It results in the antibiotics having no effect whatsoever on the bacteria, rendering the antibiotics useless. When antibiotic resistance occurs, scientists must resume their search to create a new medicine to can kill the mutant bacteria.

Antibiotics either stop the bacterial cell from reproducing or kill the cell. They can disrupt the bacteria by deterring

The aim of this investigation was to find out which antiseptics were most effective at preventing the growth of bacteria.

Cephalexin, is a beta-lactam antibiotic. The antibiotic binds to specific penicillin-binding proteins positioned inside the bacterial cell wall, this inhibits the third and last stage of bacterial cell wall synthesis. The consequences are fatal to the susceptible bacteria but comparatively harmless for the human cells because the latter does not possess such a structure. Cell

Antibiotic resistance is when microorganisms, such as bacteria, are able to survive an exposure to antibiotics and these bacteria are now resistant to the effects of these antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance in bacteria has been an issue since antibiotics were discovered. The fact that bacteria can become resistant to our medical treatments such as antibiotics is a natural evolutionary process, but there are certain human contributions that definitely speed up the process. For example, one of the main contributions that will be discussed is the problem of over prescription of the antibiotic drugs. The

Polymyxin B, a mixture of polypeptides derived from Bacillus polymyxa. It can be used bactericidally against most Gram negative bacteria and is applied most often against urinary tract, blood, and meningal infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It has no effect upon Gram positive bacteria. It kills bacterial cells by binding to a removing lipids in the cell membrane. Due to this mechanism, however, Polymyxin B also damages eukaryotic cells and thus sometimes proves to be a neuro- and nephrotoxic in humans. (DrugBank)

mechanism. Penicillin uses a ß-lactam ring as a substrate to clog the active site of

Narrow-spectrum drugs are effective against a select few kind of pathogens. The advantages of these kind of drugs include:

These mutations, no matter what process that has led to their occurrence, block the action of antibiotics by interfering with their mechanism of action (1). Currently, antibiotics attack bacteria through one of two mechanisms. In both mechanisms the antibiotic enters the microbe and interferes with production of the components needed to form new bacterial cells. Some antibiotics act on the cell membrane, causing increased permeability and leakage of cell contents. Other antibiotics interfere with protein synthesis in cells. They block one or more of the steps involved in the transformation of nucleic acids into proteins.

Antibiotics have played a major role in our society thanks to Sir Alexander Fleming's careful observations in 1928. Without it, many lives would be in danger due to infectious diseases. Antibiotics are chemical substances produced by various species of microorganisms and other living systems that are capable in small concentrations of inhibiting the growth of or killing bacteria and other microorganisms. These organisms can be bacteria, viruses, fungi, or animals called protozoa. A particular group of these agents is made up of drugs called antibiotics, from the Greek word anti ("against") and bios ("life").

The main objective of this experiment is to investigate the effect of different types of antibiotics on bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Some of the main methods used in this experiment

The mechanism by which bacitracin inhibits cell growth is by targeting the cell wall synthesis. This is achieved by binding to undecaprenol-pyrophosphate (UPP, C55-PP), which functions as a lipid carrier of peptidoglycan (PG) intermediates during the synthesis of the cell wall, transporting the intermediates from one side of the membrane to the other.

active once the immune system becomes weakened where the once quiescent bacterium has multiplied and has developed in the lungs and has begun destroying lung tissue (Encarta, 2005). Although bacterium may not be antibiotic resistant at first, it can become resistant by mutating and changing its genetic structure and in turn, reproducing rapidly (Davies, 1999). When this happens, it signifies that one’s body has become antibiotic resistant, in which particular drugs no longer function properly and no longer does its job correctly.

Less than 50 years after penicillin was discovered, strains of bacteria were discovered to be resistant to antibiotics (Haddox, 2013). Over the years scientists have changed the structure of the antibiotics to avoid this resistance, every time the bacteria adapts to overcome the changes. Bacteria divides as fast as 20 minutes and have many different ways to adapt (Haddox, 2013). Bacteria pass their drug resistance between strains and species, causing antibiotics to be less effective to all bacteria (Haddox, 2013).