<\/span><\/h2>\nAntibiotics are chemical compounds used to kill or inhibit<\/span> The growth of bacteria<\/span>. Strictly speaking, antibiotics are a subgroup of organic anti-infective agents that are derived from bacteria or molds that are toxic<\/span> to other bacteria. However, the term antibiotic is now used loosely to include anti-infectives produced from synthetic and semi-synthetic compounds.<\/p>\nThe term antibiotic can be used interchangeably with the term antibacterial. However, it is incorrect to use the term antibiotic when referring to antiviral<\/span>, antiprotozoal and antifungal.<\/p>\n<\/span>History of antibiotics.<\/span><\/h2>\nPenicillin was the first antibiotic used successfully in treatment. bacterial<\/span> infections Sir Alexander Fleming first discovered it in 1928, but its potential for treating infections was not recognized until more than a decade later, when Ernst B Chain, Sir Howard Florey and Norman Heatley produced enough purified penicillin to treat patients. In the 1950s, a large number of antibiotics were discovered and manufactured for the treatment of diseases caused by bacterial infection. Over the past 50 years, antibiotics have transformed patterns of illness and death.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/span>Classification of antibiotics.<\/span><\/h2>\nAntibiotics can be classified in several ways. The most common method classifies them according to their chemical structure, since antibiotics that share the same or a similar chemical structure generally show similar patterns of antibacterial activity, effectiveness, toxicity<\/span> and allergic potential.<\/p>\nB-lactam antibiotics inhibit the synthesis of the bacterial cell wall. They include:<\/p>\n
\n- Penicillins<\/li>\n
- Cephalosporins<\/li>\n
- Carbapenems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Penicillins<\/p>\n
\n- Penicillin G<\/li>\n
- Amoxicillin<\/li>\n
- Flucloxacillin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cephalosporins<\/p>\n
\n- Cefoxitin<\/li>\n
- Cefotaxime<\/li>\n
- Ceftriaxone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Carbapenem<\/p>\n