Tag: Antibiotic mechanism

As a member of the penicillin family of antibiotics, Principen (ampicillin) is a bactericidal agent that works by disrupting the structural integrity of bacterial cells. Its primary mode of action is to interfere with the final stages of bacterial cell wall synthesis, leading to cell death. This makes Principen a powerful tool for treating infections caused by a wide range of susceptible bacteria, but it is ineffective against viral infections like the common cold or flu.

Discovered in 1943, aminoglycosides are potent, broad-spectrum antibiotics that display rapid, concentration-dependent bactericidal activity [1.3.4, 1.3.5]. The core question for clinicians and students alike is: are aminoglycosides bacteriostatic or bactericidal? They are unequivocally bactericidal, meaning they actively kill bacteria [1.2.4].

The addition of pyrazinamide to combination therapies in the 1970s famously reduced the duration of tuberculosis treatment from over a year to just six months. Its sterilizing activity against persistent, non-replicating bacteria makes it an essential drug, and understanding **how does pyrazinamide work** has been a decades-long scientific puzzle.