Antimicrobial
[2] The main classes of antimicrobial agents are disinfectants (non-selective agents, such as bleach), which kill a wide range of microbes on non-living surfaces to prevent the spread of illness, antiseptics (which are applied to living tissue and help reduce infection during surgery), and antibiotics (which destroy microorganisms within the body).
The term antibiotic originally described only those formulations derived from living microorganisms but is now also applied to synthetic agents, such as sulfonamide's or fluoroquinolone's.
[5] In the 19th century, microbiologists such as Louis Pasteur and Jules Francois Joubert observed antagonism between some bacteria and discussed the merits of controlling these interactions in medicine.
The implementation of these antiseptic techniques drastically reduced the number of infections and subsequent deaths associated with surgical procedures.
[7] On September 3, 1928, Alexander Fleming returned from a vacation and discovered that a Petri dish filled with Staphylococcus was separated into colonies due to the antimicrobial fungus Penicillium rubens.
Fleming and his associates struggled to isolate the antimicrobial but referenced its therapeutic potential in 1929 in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology.
Stool transplants may be considered however for patients who are having difficulty recovering from prolonged antibiotic treatment, such as recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections.
The antibiotic era began with the therapeutic application of sulfonamide drugs in 1936, followed by a "golden" period of discovery from about 1945 to 1970, when a number of structurally diverse and highly effective agents were discovered and developed.
[13] In parallel, there has been an alarming increase in antimicrobial resistance of bacteria, fungi, parasites and some viruses to multiple existing agents.
As a consequence of widespread and injudicious use of antibacterials, there has been an accelerated emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, resulting in a serious threat to global public health.
Possible strategies towards this objective include increased sampling from diverse environments and application of metagenomics to identify bioactive compounds produced by currently unknown and uncultured microorganisms as well as the development of small-molecule libraries customized for bacterial targets.
In medicine, they are used as a treatment for infections such as athlete's foot, ringworm and thrush and work by exploiting differences between mammalian and fungal cells.
Thus, fungal and human cells are similar at the molecular level, making it more difficult to find a target for an antifungal drug to attack that does not also exist in the host organism.
Other antifungal surface treatments typically contain variants of metals known to suppress mold growth e.g. pigments or solutions containing copper, silver or zinc.
Viral hepatitis is caused by five unrelated hepatotropic viruses (A-E) and may be treated with antiviral drugs depending on the type of infection.
[29][30] The United States Environmental Protection Agency approved the registration of antimicrobial copper alloy surfaces for use in addition to regular cleaning and disinfection to control infections.
[30][31] Antimicrobial copper alloys are being installed in some healthcare facilities and subway transit systems as a public hygienic measure.
[38] Barriers to increased usage in mainstream medicine include poor regulatory oversight and quality control, mislabeled or misidentified products, and limited modes of delivery.
[39][27] According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and defined by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, antimicrobial pesticides are used to control growth of microbes through disinfection, sanitation, or reduction of development and to protect inanimate objects, industrial processes or systems, surfaces, water, or other chemical substances from contamination, fouling, or deterioration caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, algae, or slime.
Even once certain products are on the market, the EPA continues to monitor and evaluate them to make sure they maintain efficacy in protecting public health.
[42] Public health products regulated by the EPA are divided into three categories:[40] Antimicrobial pesticides have the potential to be a major factor in drug resistance.
[44] According to a 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, health-care workers can take steps to improve their safety measures against antimicrobial pesticide exposure.
Workers are advised to minimize exposure to these agents by wearing personal protective equipment such as gloves and safety glasses.
As antimicrobial technology develops at a rapid pace, these scrubs are readily available, with more advanced versions hitting the market every year.
This can lead to outbreaks and infections like methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, treatments for which cost the healthcare industry $20 billion a year.
Each of these halogens have a different antimicrobial effect that is influenced by various factors such as pH, temperature, contact time, and type of microorganism.
The growth of microorganisms is inhibited when iodine penetrates into the cells and oxidizes proteins, genetic material, and fatty acids.
These compounds inhibit microbial growth by precipitating proteins which lead to their denaturation and by penetrating into the cell membrane of microorganisms and disrupting it.
Such products are heated to a certain temperature for a set period of time, which greatly reduces the number of harmful microorganisms.
[65] Antimicrobial surfaces are designed to either inhibit the ability of microorganisms to grow or damaging them by chemical (copper toxicity) or physical processes (micro/nano-pillars to rupture cell walls).
