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Review
. 2017 Jul-Sep;33(3):300-305.
doi: 10.4103/joacp.JOACP_349_15.

Action and resistance mechanisms of antibiotics: A guide for clinicians

Garima Kapoor  1 , Saurabh Saigal  2 , Ashok Elongavan  3
Affiliations
Review

Action and resistance mechanisms of antibiotics: A guide for clinicians

Garima Kapoor et al. J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol. 2017 Jul-Sep.

Abstract

Infections account for a major cause of death throughout the developing world. This is mainly due to the emergence of newer infectious agents and more specifically due to the appearance of antimicrobial resistance. With time, the bacteria have become smarter and along with it, massive imprudent usage of antibiotics in clinical practice has resulted in resistance of bacteria to antimicrobial agents. The antimicrobial resistance is recognized as a major problem in the treatment of microbial infections. The biochemical resistance mechanisms used by bacteria include the following: antibiotic inactivation, target modification, altered permeability, and "bypass" of metabolic pathway. Determination of bacterial resistance to antibiotics of all classes (phenotypes) and mutations that are responsible for bacterial resistance to antibiotics (genetic analysis) are helpful. Better understanding of the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance will help clinicians regarding usage of antibiotics in different situations. This review discusses the mechanism of action and resistance development in commonly used antimicrobials.

Keywords: Antibiotics; antimicrobial resistance; bacterial cell wall; mechanism of action.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of bacterial cell envelope
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanism of action of antibiotics
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mechanism of action of β-lactam antibiotics
Figure 4
Figure 4
Site of action of protein biosynthesis inhibitors
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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