Anitibiotics –Beta Lactums: A Review

Abstract

Antibiotics are medicines that help stop infections caused by bacteria. They do this by killing the bacteria or by keeping them from copying themselves or reproducing. The word antibiotic means against life. Any drug that kills germs in your body is technically an antibiotic.

 Antibiotics are classified into one of the following classes: penicillins, fluoroquinolones, cephalosporins, macrolides, beta-lactams with increased activity (e.g. amoxicillin-clavulanate), tetracyclines, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, lincosamides (e.g. clindamycin), urinary anti-infectives, and other antibiotics

Beta lactum antibiotics (Penicillins, Cephalosporins, Monobactams, and Carbapenems) mainly act by interrupting bacterial cell wall formation as a result of covalent binding to essential penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), enzymes that are involved in the terminal steps of peptidoglycan cross-linking in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.

Key Words: Antibiotics, penicillins, fluoroquinolones, cephalosporins, macrolides, beta-lactams.