Antimicrobial Drugs

Antimicrobial drugs belong to a class of chemotherapeutic agents used to treat infectious diseases. Antimicrobial drugs act within the host and target the harmful organism without affecting host cells. This is known as selective toxicity. Synthetic drugs are synthesized in the laboratory while antibiotics are produced by microorganisms. Dr. Paul Ehlrich of Germany discovered what he considered a "magic bullet" that would destroy harmful microorganisms but not the host. He eventually found salvarsan, an arsenic derivative, that was useful against syphilis. Penicillin is an antibiotic and was first discovered in 1928 by Alexander Flemming. Antimicrobial drugs can be classified by their range of efficacy. If a drug affects few bacteria it is known as a narrow spectrum drug as opposed to broad spectrum drugs that affect a wide range of bacteria. Antibiotics may eliminate normal microbiota or "good bacteria" and allow opportunistic pathogens to flourish. This is known as a superinfection. Axygen, Bel-Art, and Kimberly Clark all supply products used in antimicrobial drug research.