In the long struggle against bacterial infection, antibacterial drugs are undoubtedly a powerful weapon in the hands of humankind. But do you understand how these magical drugs work within us, precisely to strike bacteria, and thus help us recover from health? Today, let us all lift the veil of anti-bacterial mechanisms.
Cursing cell wall synthesis
Bacteria have a resilient cell wall, which is like a strong fort, maintaining the shape and structural integrity of the bacteria and protecting them from the external environment. And some of the antibacterial drugs, such as penicillin and headgillin, are aimed at the key target point of the cell wall.
These drugs can be combined with some of the enzymes necessary in the process of the bacterial synthesis of cell walls, thus interfering with their synthesis. It is as if, during the construction of the fort, the building tools were secretly destroyed, making it impossible to build the wall. As bacteria grow and divide, due to the lack of complete cell walls, they expand, break and eventually die as a result of permeable pressure. This is the clever mechanism for anti-bacterial action by inhibiting cell wall synthesis.
Impacting membrane penetration
Cellular membranes are an important barrier to bacterial cells, which control the movement of substances and are essential for the survival of bacteria. Some antibacterial drugs, such as polymixin, are specifically designed to “play” cellular membranes.
Polymactactin-type drugs can be combined with specific components on the bacterial membrane to change the membrane penetration. The original membranes, which were able to control precisely what could come in and out of it, could, once the drug had been used, be as if the gates had broken down and the substances had begun to enter and out of bacterial cells without control. There is a large loss of important elements in the cell, and at the same time there may be a large influx of external harmful substances, leading to the failure of bacteria to maintain normal physiology, leading to death.
Interrupted protein synthesis
Protein is the main contributor to life activities and is no exception for bacteria. Bacteria require continuous synthesis of various proteins to perform many important tasks of growth, reproduction and metabolism. Many antibacterial drugs, such as amino sugar slurry, tetracycline and large cyclic esters, are antibacterial effects by interfering with the synthesis of bacterial proteins.
In the case of amino-sugar-like drugs, for example, they can be combined with specific parts of bacterial nuclei, resulting in errors in the nuclei when they synthesize proteins, either they are deformed, they cannot function properly or they simply cannot continue to synthesize proteins. As a result, bacteria are like machines that have lost power because of the lack of critical protein components, all life activities are unsustainable and ultimately removed from the organism.
Depressing nucleic acid synthesis
Nucleic acids, including DNA and RNA, are vectors of bacterial genetic information and control vital components of bacteria’ genetics and reproduction. Some antibacterial drugs, such as quinone and lefopine, focus on nucleic acid synthesis as a key step.
A quinone-type drug can inhibit the activity of a bacterial DNA revolving enzyme, which is essential for the reproduction and trans-recording of DNA. When its activity is inhibited, the reproduction and transfer of DNA is hampered, and bacteria are unable to accurately transmit and reproduce their own genetic information and to properly reproduce their offspring. Lifoping, for its part, is mainly responsible for the RNA polymerase, which interferes with the synthesis of RNAs, and it also makes bacteria genetic and reproductive difficult.
It is through these sophisticated mechanisms that anti-bacterial drugs have taken an intense fight with bacteria in the microworld to protect our health. But we also need to understand that anti-bacterial drugs must be used rationally, otherwise they will not only affect their efficacy, but may also lead to the creation of bacterial resistance, which will deprive us of these powerful weapons in the future in the face of bacterial infection. So let us understand and use the antibacterial drugs correctly and work together to maintain this hard-won health security.
