Antimicrobial agents can have one of the following three effects:
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Different bacteria have unique structures, metabolic pathways, and resistance mechanisms. An antimicrobial agent may target a specific bacterial structure or pathway, making it effective against a certain type of bacteria but not others. In addition, bacteria evolve and acquire resistance to antimicrobial agents through various mechanisms, further reducing their effectiveness against certain bacteria.
Bacterial infections are generally the easiest to treat with antimicrobial agents because there are a wide variety of antibiotics available that specifically target bacteria. Most bacterial infections respond well to antimicrobial treatment when the appropriate antibiotic is chosen based on the specific bacteria causing the infection.
Antimicrobial agents are compounds that inhibit or kill microbes or microorganims, e.g bacteria and fungi. Antimicrobial agents can be chemicals or biological in compostion. Chemical based antimicrobial agents are antibiotics where are biological based are antimicrobial peptides. Antimicrobial agents inhibit or kill microbes by breaking there cell wall or inhibiting some metabolism or bind to DNA and prevent the replication, thus stopping the multiplication of the microbes in the body
Bactine contains two key antimicrobial agents: benzalkonium chloride and lidocaine. Benzalkonium chloride acts as a disinfectant to kill bacteria and viruses, while lidocaine provides pain relief by numbing the skin.
The paper disc diffusion method is a laboratory technique used to test the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents against bacteria. In this method, paper discs containing different antimicrobial agents are placed on a solid agar plate inoculated with bacteria. The zone of inhibition around each disc indicates the susceptibility of the bacteria to the specific antimicrobial agent.