Question

An antibiotic is a substance produced by a microorganism that can inhibit the growth of other microorganisms.

a) describe and explain how antibiotic-producing microorganism can protect itself from being attack by the antibiotic it produces? (6marks)

b) Antibiotics can be divided into broad and narrow spectrum types. What are the major differences between the two types of antibiotics?

c) Describe and explain why physicians always prescribe the broad spectrum antibiotics to a patient who suffers from an unidentified bacterial infection.

d) You are the leader of an antibiotics development team at a pharmaceutical company and will collaborate with a University professor who recently discovered a microorganism that produces a chemical that kills Gram-positive bacteria. Your supervisor asked you whether it is worthwhile developing the chemical product for the commercial market.

(i) Describe and explain the factors you need to consider if you propose to commercialize the product.

(ii) What procedures will you follow if you wish to produce the product at an industrial scale?

e) (i) Describe the strategies that are commonly used to develop antiviral drugs.

(ii) AIDS is treated with a "cocktail" that consists of a mixture of several antiviral agents. Why is the use of a "cocktail" mixture more effective than a single antiviral agent in treating AIDS patients?

Answer 1

a) One way antibiotic-producing microorganisms avoid being killed is by producing what's called a "resistance protein," capable of inactivating the antibiotic. When the antibiotic is released into the environment, it enters and kills other bacterial cells.

b) Narrow-spectrum antibiotics target a few types of bacteria. Broad-spectrum antibiotics target many types of bacteria. Both types work well to treat infections. But using broad-spectrum antibiotics when they’re not needed can create antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are hard to treat. They may also have side effects, such as diarrhea or rash. Examples of narrow-spectrum antibiotics are the older penicillins (penG), the macrolides and vancomycin. Examples of broad-spectrum antibiotics are the aminoglycosides, the 2nd and 3rd generation cephalosporins, the quinolones, and some synthetic penicillins.

c)A broad-spectrum antibiotic is an antibiotic that acts on the two major bacterial groups, gram-positive and gram-negative, or any antibiotic that acts against a wide range of disease-causing bacteria. These medicines are used when a bacterial infection is suspected but the bacterial group is unknown (also known as empirical therapy) or when multiple bacterial groups are suspected of infection.