BIOL 676 - Antibiotics: Origin, Mechanism, Resistance

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Infectious agents, the bacteria and viruses, accounted for 57 percent of the deaths in the United States in 1900 and less than 4 percent in 1990. The discovery and application of antibiotics and other chemotherapeutic agents are largely responsible for this dramatic reversal. In this course, the origin of selected chemotherapeutic agents, their detailed mode of action and the basis for emergence of resistant microbial populations will be discussed. Similarly, the action of selected drugs used in chemotherapy, which attempts to control cancer cell growth, will be outlined. The principle of ‘rational drug design’ and radical ‘new’ methods of attacking microbial populations will be explored.
Prerequisite: Prerequisites: BIOL 302, BIOL 303, CHEM 351, BIOL 352 and BIOL 275 are recommended.