MOC - Antimicrobials

Drug classes, mechanisms of action, and links to susceptibility testing and resistance.

Parent: Home · Map: Encyclopedia Map

Overview

Antimicrobials exploit differences between microbe and host (Prokaryote vs Eukaryote, Bacterial Cell Wall). Therapy choices depend on syndrome, likely pathogens, and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing.

Key Classes

Target	Deep notes	Resistance links
Cell wall	Beta-lactams · Glycopeptides	MRSA · ESBL · AmpC · Carbapenemases · VRE
Membrane	Polymyxins, daptomycin	Colistin Resistance · Bacterial Plasma Membrane
Protein synthesis	Aminoglycosides · Macrolides · tetracyclines, linezolid	erm, modifying enzymes
Nucleic acids	Fluoroquinolones · rifamycins, metronidazole	gyrA/parC, qnr
Metabolism	TMP-SMX, sulfonamides	FolA/FolP
Antivirals	Organism pages + MOC - Virology	resistance varies by virus

History Anchors

• Paul Ehrlich · Alexander Fleming · Howard Florey · Ernst Chain

Diagnostic Links

• Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing · MOC - Diagnostic & Lab Methods

Resistance Hub

• MOC - Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
• Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance · Plasmid · Horizontal Gene Transfer

Core Notes

• Antibiotics · Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Testing: MIC Testing · Disk Diffusion · Broth Microdilution

Related MOCs

• MOC - Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) · MOC - Clinical Microbiology · MOC - Bacteriology
• MOC - AI in Microbiology → AI for Antibiotic Discovery · AI in Antimicrobial Stewardship

Build Status

Cluster	Status
Class table scaffold	done
Per-class deep notes (β-lactams, FQ, aminoglycosides, macrolides, glycopeptides)	✅ 2026-08-02
Tetracyclines, oxazolidinones, nitroimidazoles, antifungals/antiparasitics	optional backlog