Classification of antibiotics

Antibiotics are widely used in medicine, the most common use of which is to kill bacteria. At the same time, antibiotics also have a certain killing effect on some microorganisms that can cause disease. Some antibiotics on the market are directly extracted, while others are artificially synthesized. Although antibiotics can be used to treat diseases, they also have certain side effects.

Antibiotics is a general term. In fact, the field of antibiotics is very broad. It can be divided into several categories, and it has many functions. However, when using antibiotics, you must be under the guidance of a doctor.

The main categories of antibiotics are:

1. Aminoglycosides: gentamicin, tobramycin, streptomycin, amikacin

2. β-lactam penicillins (amoxicillin, ampicillin, carbenicillin), cephalosporins, carbapenems, cephamycins, monolactams, β-lactamase inhibitors, methicillins

3. Macrolides: erythromycin, leucomycin (kitasamycin), roxithromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, acetylspiramycin, midecamycin, josamycin, etc.

4. Amide alcohols: including chloramphenicol, thiamphenicol, etc.

5. Tetracyclines: including tetracycline, oxytetracycline (doxycycline), chlortetracycline, etc.

6. Lincosamides: clindamycin, lincomycin

7. Peptides: such as vancomycin and teicoplanin

8. Antifungal antibiotics: such as griseofulvin, amphotericin B, nystatin

9. Anti-tumor antibiotics: such as mitomycin, actinomycin D, bleomycin, doxorubicin, etc.

10. Antibiotics with immunosuppressive effects: such as cyclosporine

11. Polyphosphorus antibiotics: such as fosfomycin

The reason why antibiotics can kill bacteria is mainly by inhibiting the cell wall of bacteria to achieve the purpose of bacterial death. Some antibiotics also bind to the cell membrane of bacteria and affect the permeability of the cell membrane, which can also cause bacterial cell death. Therefore, the main purpose of antibiotics is to kill bacteria.