The rapid advances made in the study of the synthesis, structure and function of biological macromolecules in the last fifteen years have enabled scientists concerned with antimicrobial agents to achieve a considerable measure of understanding of how these substances inhibit cell growth and division.
1 The Development of Antimicrobial Agents, Past, Present and Future.- The social and economic importance of antimicrobial agents.- An outline of the historical development of antimicrobial agents and of chemotherapeutic theories.- Reasons for studying the biochemistry of antimicrobial compounds.- Development of biochemical knowledge of antimicrobial action.- Scope and layout of the present book.- 2 The Bacterial Cell Wall — A Vulnerable Shield.- Functions of the wall.- Wall structure.- Structure and biosynthesis of peptidoglycan.- Antibiotics that inhibit peptidoglycan biosynthesis.- 3 Antiseptics, Antibiotics and the Cell Membrane.- Microbe killers: antiseptics and disinfectants.- Polypeptide antibiotics.- Ionophoric antibiotics.- Polyene antibiotics.- An inhibitor of membrane phospholipid biosynthesis.- 4 Inhibitors of Nucleic Acid Synthesis.- Compounds affecting the biosynthesis of nucleotide precursors.- Inhibitors of nucleic acid synthesis at the polymerization level.- 5 Inhibitors of Protein Synthesis.- Ribosomes.- Stages in protein biosynthesis.- Puromycin.- Inhibitors of aminoacyl-tRNA formation.- Inhibitors of initiation-complex formation and tRNA—ribosome interaction.- Inhibitors of peptide bond formation and translocation.- Nucleic acid synthesis during inhibition of protein synthesis.- Effects of inhibitors of 70S ribosomes on eukaryotic cells.- 6 Antifungal, Antiprotozoal and Antiviral Agents.- Compounds used to treat protozoal diseases.- Compounds used to treat fungal diseases.- Compounds used to treat virus diseases.- 7 Penetrating the Defences: How Antimicrobial Agents Reach Their Targets.- Cellular permeability barriers to drug penetration.- Some examples of modes of penetration of antimicrobial agents.- The exploitation of transport systems in thedesign of new antimicrobial agents.- 8 Resistance to Antimicrobial Drugs.- The genetics of drug resistance.- Spread of drug resistance by gene transfer.- Biochemical mechanisms of drug resistance.- Bacterial tolerance.- Practical approaches to the control of drug resistance.