English microbiologist Alexander Fleming in 1929 discovered the first antibiotic – penicillin. This was one of the most significant discoveries of the XX century. The new era has begun in biology and medicine – the era of antibiotics. They were treated as a panacea, as they coped with the treatment of diseases previously considered hopeless.

1. THE FIRST ANTIBIOTICS
EnglishmicrobiologistAlexanderFlemingin1929 discoveredthe firstantibiotic –penicillin.Thiswasone
of the mostsignificantdiscoveriesof the XXcentury.The new erahas beguninbiologyandmedicine –
the era of antibiotics.Theyweretreatedasapanacea,as theycopedwiththe treatmentof diseases
previouslyconsideredhopeless.
he firstnewantibiotictobe discoveredinnearly30yearshas beenhailedasa ‘paradigmshift’inthe
fightagainstthe growingresistance todrugs.Teixobactinhasbeenfoundtotreatmanycommon
bacterial infectionssuchastuberculosis,septicaemiaandC.diff,andcouldbe available withinfiveyears.
But more importantlyitcouldpave the wayfor a new generationof antibioticsbecauseof the wayit
was discovered.
Scientistshave alwaysbelievedthatthe soil wasteemingwithnew andpotentantibioticsbecause
bacteriahave developednovel waystofightoff othermicrobes.But99 per centof microbeswill not
grow inlaboratoryconditionsleavingresearchersfrustratedthattheycouldnotgetto the life-saving
natural drugs.
Nowa team fromNortheasternUniversityinBoston,Massachusetts,have discoveredawayof usingan
electronicchiptogrowthe microbesinthe soil andthen isolate theirantibioticchemical compounds.
Theydiscoveredthatone compound,Teixobactin,ishighlyeffective againstcommonbacterial infections
Clostridiumdifficile,MycobacteriumtuberculousandStaphylococcusaureus.ProfessorKimLewis,
Directorof the AntimicrobialDiscoveryCentre said:“Apartfromthe immediate implementation,thereis
alsoI thinka paradigmshiftinour mindsbecause we have beenoperatingonthe basisthatresistance
developmentisinevitableandthatwe have to focuson introducingdrugsfasterthanresistance
“Teixobactinshowshowwe canadoptan alternative strategyanddevelopcompoundstowhichbacteria
are notresistant.”The firstantibioticPenicillin,wasdiscoveredbyAlexanderFlemingin1928 and more
than 100 compoundshave beenfoundsince,butnonew classhasbeenfoundsince 1987.
The lack of newdrugscoupledwithover-prescribinghasledtobacteriabecomingincreasinglyresistant
to modernmedicines.
Dame SallyDavies,the government’sChief Medical Officer,saidantibioticresistantwas‘asbiga risk of
terrorism;andwarnedthat Britainfacedreturningtoa 19th centuryworldwhere the smallestinfection
or operationcouldkill.The WorldHealthOganisationhasalsoclassifiedantimicrobial resistanceas a
“seriousthreat’toeveryregionof the worldwhich‘hasthe potential toaffectanyone,of anyage,inany
country”
Howeverthe newdiscoveryoffershope thatmanynew antibioticscouldbe foundtofightbacterial
infections.

2. Crucially,the scientistsbelievethatbacteriawill notbecome resistanttoTeixobactinforatleast30
yearsbecause of itsmultiple methodsof attack.
Testingonmice has alreadyshownthatthe antibioticworkswell atclearinginfections,withoutside-
effects.The teamisnowconcentratingonupscalingproductionsothatitcouldbe testedinhumans.
“Rightnow we can deliveradose thatcuresmice and a varietyof modelsof infectionandwe candeliver
10 mg per kgso it correlateswell withhumanusage,”addedProfessorLewis.
The breakthroughwasheraldedbyscientistswhosaiditcouldprove a ‘game-changer’inthe struggle
againstantimicrobial resistance.
Prof Laura Piddock,Professorof Microbiologyatthe Universityof Birmingham, said:“The screeningtool
developedbythese researcherscouldbe a‘game changer’fordiscoveringnew antibioticsasitallows
compoundstobe isolatedfromsoil producingmicro-organismsthatdonot grow undernormal
laboratoryconditions.”
Prof Mark Woolhouse,Professorof InfectiousDiseaseEpidemiology,fromthe Universityof Edinburgh
added:“Anyreportof a newantibioticisauspicious,butwhatmostexcitesme aboutthe paperisthe
tantalisingprospectthatthisdiscoveryisjustthe tipof the iceberg.“Mostantibioticsare natural
productsderivedfrommicrobesinthe soil.The oneswe have discoveredsofarcome froma tinysubset
of the richdiversityof microbesthatlive there.
“Lewisetal.have founda way to lookforantibioticsinotherkindsof microbe,partof the so-called
microbial “darkmatter”that is verydifficulttostudy.”Dr AngelikaGründling,ReaderinMolecular
Microbiology,Imperial CollegeLondonsaidthe discovery,‘raisesourhopesthatnew antibioticscanbe
broughtto the clinicsinthe not too distantfuture.’
“The greathope isnow that manymore new antibioticscanbe uncoveredinasimilarmanner.”
PublicHealthEnglandalsowelcomedthe breakthrough.
“The rise inantibioticresistance isathreatto modernhealthcare aswe know it sothisdiscoverycould
potentiallyhelptobridge the everincreasinggapbetweeninfectionsandthe medicineswe have
available totreatthem,”saidProf Neil Woodford,Headof PublicHealthEngland’sAntimicrobial
Resistance andHealthcare AssociatedInfectionsReference Unit.
The term “antibiotic”isderivedfromtwoGreekwords:“anti” – “against”and “bios”– life.Itwasfirst
proposedbyProfessorWaxmanin1942. (Althoughthe moldusedinGreece andancientRome,only
thentheywere notcalledantibiotics.) Antibiotics –drugs of microbial,animal orvegetableorigin
selectivelyinhibitthe vital activityof certaingeneraandspeciesof microorganisms.Thisisthe most
numerousgroupof drugs.Thus, inRussiatodayis usedmore than200 drugs(not countinganalogs).
Theyare groupedaccordingto certainqualities,despitethe differencesinchemical structure and
mechanismof action.There are antibioticswithantibacterial,antifungal,antiviral andantitumoractivity

3. Specificityof antibioticsisthat,unlike mostotherdrugs,theyoperate atthe cellularlevel.However,
theiractivityisnotconstant:it decreaseswithtime.Thisiscausedbythe formationof drug – the
inevitable biological phenomenon).The factthatbacteriaare somehow “similar”torats, whichhad
alreadybecome accustomedtothe poisonknowntothemandtheneat these poisonslikeaharmless
powder.Andanothertrouble:microorganismsthatbecome resistanttocertainantibioticsgoonto
infectotherpeople,sotodeal withthemneedisa new antibiotic.
The firstantibioticswere verysimple andhadtoomany shortcomings,namely:seriousside effects,
manycontraindications,andthe needforfrequentandprolongeduse of drugs,fasthabituation.For
decades,manycountriescarriedoutintensive workto create new generationsof antibiotics.Inrecent
yearsthe pharmaceutical marketoutproductsof the XXIcentury,whichcause far fewerside effects
and,more importantly,“donotgive the addiction.Allow themenoughtoonly2 timesaday, as their
effectlastsfor12 hours(intravenously –8 hours).Those are antibioticssuchasMaxipim, Meron,
Rocephinandothers.
Antibioticshelpusgetridof many diseases,andoftenwe ourselves“prescribe”atreatment.Butthey
are far fromharmless,asdo mostother drugs.The informationprovidedonoursite,helpyou
understandwhenantibiotics –medication,andwhen –the poison,andavoidmistakesintheir
application.Byitschemical structure of antibioticsare dividedinto12 maingroups.Therefore,we will
considerantibioticsforgroupstoget a clearerpicture of theiraction.
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