To treat bacterial infections in humans, antibiotics used must be able to target the bacteria and leave the human cells healthy selectively. It is clear that modern antibiotics usually act on processes that are unique to bacteria ( Davidson, Poon, Saunders, Shapiro, Hickok, & Adams, 2015) . These processes include the synthesis of cell walls or the folic acids. There is also the targeting of protein synthesis and DNA replication, which are common to both humans and bacteria ( Singh, Young, & Silver, 2017) . The implication is that one of the important qualities of an antibiotic is its ability to implement selective toxicity. Selective toxicity kills or inhibits the growth of microbial targets while at the same time causing minimal harm to the human cells.
Tetracycline
This antibiotic works by inhibiting bacterial growth and by stopping protein synthesis. It is evident that both bacteria and humans usually carry out protein synthesis on structures known as ribosomes ( Davidson, Poon, Saunders, Shapiro, Hickok, & Adams, 2015) . Tetracycline can cross the membranes of the bacteria. This leads to the accumulation of the tetracycline in high concentrations in the cytoplasm. The tetracycline ends up binding itself into a single sit on the ribosome blocking a key RNA interaction. This shuts off the lengthening protein chain. However, when it comes to human cells, the tetracycline does not accumulate in high concentrations to stop any form of protein synthesis.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Antibiotics cannot kill viruses as they have different structures and usually replicate differently from the way bacteria replicate. Using an antibiotic to treat a virus may not cure the infection, will not make one feel better, and cannot help prevent others from getting the virus. There is also an increased risk of one developing resistance to antibiotics due to increased use of these drugs in dealing with conditions that may not even require an antibiotic ( Singh, Young, & Silver, 2017) . This is why some doctors may warn individuals only to use antibiotics when prescribed.
References
Davidson, H., Poon, M., Saunders, R., Shapiro, I. M., Hickok, N. J., & Adams, C. S. (2015). Tetracycline tethered to titanium inhibits colonization by Gram-negative bacteria. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials , 103 (7), 1381-1389.
Singh, S. B., Young, K., & Silver, L. L. (2017). What is an “ideal” antibiotic? Discovery challenges and path forward. Biochemical pharmacology , 133 , 63-73.
