- Bacterial cell wall targets
Penicillins (bactericidal; inhibit cell wall crosslinking)
e.g., benzylpenicillin, phenoyxmethylpenicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, flu-
cloxacillin, methicillin, piperacillin
Cephalosporins (bactericidal; inhibit cell wall crosslinking)
e.g., cefaclor, cefalexin, cefradine, cefuroxime, cefazolin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone,
cefoxitin, cefsulodin, ceftazidime, ceftizoxime
Monobactams (bactericidal,β-lactam-like activity)
e.g., aztreonam
Carbapenems (bactericidal,β-lactam-like activity)
e.g., imipenem
Bacitracin (bactericidal; interrupts mucopeptide synthesis)
Vancomycin (bactericidal; interrupts mucopeptide synthesis)
Cycloserine (bactericidal; interrupts synthesis of cell wall peptides) - Bacterial cell membrane targets
Polymyxins (bactericidal; disrupt bacterial membrane structural integrity) - Bacterial protein synthesis
Chloramphenicol (bacteriostatic; interrupts protein synthesis at the ribosome)
Macrolides (bacteriostatic; interrupt protein synthesis at the 50S ribosome subunit)
e.g., erythromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin
Lincomycins (bacteriostatic; interrupt protein synthesis at the 50S subunit)
Aminoglycosides (bactericidal; interrupt protein synthesis at the 30S subunit)
e.g., gentamicin, amikacin, kanamycin, neomycin, tobramycin
Tetracyclines (bacteriostatic; interrupt protein synthesis at the 30S subunit)
e.g., tetracycline, doxycycline, minocycline
EXOGENOUS PATHOGENS AND TOXINS 561Figure 9.3 Targets for antibacterial drugs. The various classes of antibacterial drugs exert their
effects at one of the four fundamental structural components of bacteria. Each of these compo-
nents is vulnerable to drug attack. Penicillin, for example, attacks at the level of the cell wall;
chloramphenicol, however, works at the level of bacterial protein synthesis.