Question

State the main difference between bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal antibiotics. Give one example of each.

Answer 1

The main difference between bactericidaland bacteriostatic antibiotics is their mode of action. Bactericidal antibiotics directly kill bacteria by inhibiting the bacterial cell wall formation. ... In contrast, bacteriostatic antibiotics inhibit the DNA replication and protein synthesis of bacteria.


Bacteriostatic are the antibiotics which prevent or inhibit the growth of bacteria by inhibiting their multiplication and thus acting in that way to cure the disease.Example: Sulfonamides like sulfamethoxazole,trimethoprim etc. ... Bactericidal are antibiotics that actual kill the Bacteria (penicillins, for example).

Answer 2

Bacteriostatic antibiotics limit the growth of bacteria by interfering with bacterial protein production, DNA replication, or other aspects of bacterial cellular metabolism. This group includes:tetracyclines, sulfonamides, spectinomycin, trimethoprim,chloramphenicol, macrolidesand lincosamides.

One way that bactericidal antibodies kill bacteria is by inhibiting cell wall synthesis.Examples include the Beta-lactam antibiotics (penicillin derivatives (penams) ), cephalosporins (cephems), monobactams, and carbapenems) and vancomycin.