Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1972

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Chemistry

Abstract

An antibacterial agent is a substance which destroys or suppresses bacterial growth or reproduction. Gerhard Domagk's discovery of the antibacterial activity of the sulfonamides began one of the brightest eras in modern anti-bacterial chemotherapy. The sulfonamides are effective and are still used today but the introduction of the antibiotics has made them less popular. Antibacterial agents cannot be classified by one chemical grouping or mechanism of action. The phenols and alcohols act by denaturing protein while others, such as arsenic and the heavy metals, exert their effect by combining with the sulfhydryl grouping present as an active site on certain enzymes. The sulfonamides exert their effect by interfering with the utilization of paminobenzoic acid in bacteria. The antibiotics including cycloserine, vancomycin, penicillin, and cephalothin inhibit normal build-up of the cell wall of the bacteria. The proposed compounds would theoretica1ly inhibit the normal cell wall synthesis of bacteria because these compounds would have the necessary binding sites needed for normal cell wall synthesis. However, the compounds synthesized should be bio-isosteric to the normal precursors to be accepted by the enzymes needed for biological synthesis.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Chemotherapy
Anti-infective agents

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

42

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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