Talk:Antibiotic

If the sulfonamides (i.e. sulfa drugs) are to be considered antibiotics, then they *may* have a claim to being the first antibiotics found. Someone better check into prontosil (interesting in itself as a drug found using the magic bullet theory, and for which the magic bullet theory pointed to the useless part of the molecule) and the date of its discovery. David M

Ok, in answer to this question that I raised, penicillin was used in unpublished clinical trials in 1931. Tests of prontosil did not begin until December of 1932, and the first clinical tests are supposed to have happened in 1933. David M

A good discussion of this history is here:

http://stevenlehrer.com/explorers/chapter_7-3.htm

David M

---

• The sulfonamides do predate penicillin but don't count as antibiotics since they are synthetic antimicrobials. There are enough of these around to warrant a seperate article. I've added a clarification in the first paragraph.
• Generally harmless is a bit misleading. I haven't changed this but it should be noted that many antibiotics can have toxic effects (eg Streptomycin damages the balance mechanism in the ear), they often affect normal gut flora causing gastrointestinal disturbance and there is a significant incidence of allergic reaction.

--DWeir

---

Some people name a group of antibiotics like glycopeptids and another people like glucopeptids. What is the right name ( from glucosa or glycosa )???Mac

The proper name is glycopeptides. For example http://www.iupac.org/goldbook/G02656.pdf Daevatgl 15:08, Jul 17, 2004 (UTC)

---

Any reason for maintaining a section called Antibiotic#Antibiotic_Resistance in this article. All of this material should be moved to Antibiotic resistance. The section called Antibiotic#Antibiotic_misuse should suffice as a redirection to Antibiotic resistance WpZurp 14:32, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC)

---

Strictly speaking, antibiotics are made by bacteria against other bacteria. The common usage of the word antibiotic should actually be the term 'antimicrobial'. Antimicrobials are any substance which has properties against a microbe - whether that be a protozoa, bacteria, virus, etc. Discussion/classification of antibiotics on the basis of bacteriocidal (actively kill bacteria) and bacteriostatic (prevent from multiplying) properties would be nice to have too.

Added Freudenreich and Duchesne

Discoverers, respectively, of the first antibiotic (Pyocyanase), and the penicillium mold's effectiveness.

re last addition to "lead" paragraph

The new sentence was added by an editor who apparently has some background in this area, but: 1) an antibiotic is a "small" molecule compared to what?; 2) sure, it's "not an enzyme", but it's not lots of things; and 3) antibiotics, as the term is generally used, are not necessarily "a molecule" to begin with. I expect to alter or eliminate this addition soon, but wanted to put this note out before so doing. Am I missing something here? Sfahey 03:39, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC)

1. They are "small" molecules compared to large molecules like proteins or large polymeric carbohydrates. The specification "molecular weight less than 2000" is the "official" definition.

Perhaps it's in the eye of the beholder. Todar's textbk. of bacteriology says: "Antibiotics tend to be rather large, complicated, organic molecules and may require as many as 30 separate enzymatic steps to synthesize. The maintenance of a substantial component of the bacterial genome devoted solely to the synthesis of an antibiotic leads one to the conclusion that the process (or molecule) is important, if not essential, to the survival of these organisms in their natural habitat." Sfahey 04:02, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

1. Antibiotics are by definition organic molecules.

The popular usage of "antibiotic" includes combination drugs, which wouldn't be "a molecule". That's perhaps splitting hairs, but it would be good to qualify the statement, as in "biochemically, an antibiotic ..." Sfahey 04:02, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Actually there are two different definitions used in medicine and biochemistry, I will change the article accordingly soon. Cacycle 11:50, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC)