Question

What cellular components do some bacterial cells have that make them powerful pathogens? explain your answer. 2. why are penicillins often more effective against gram positive bacteria than gram negative bacteria? 3. why is it important to understand the structure of a bacterial cell when developing an antibioti 4. how do antibiotics work without harming the surrounding human cells? 5. what class of antibiotics would you prescribe for sue? explain your answer. 6. why are antibiotics not effective against viruses? (think back to what you learned about viruses in pbs.)?

Answer 1

1. The cellular components of bacteria that make them powerful pathogens include the pili, the capsule and the endospores. The pili allows the bacteria to attach itself to the host very tightly, the capsule protects the bacteria from been destroyed and the endospores enable the bacteria to survive in harsh conditions.
2. Penicillin are more effective against gram positive bacteria because, gram positive bacteria possess only one layer of  cytoplasmic membrane, this allow for easy penetration of their cells by penicillin. Penicillin is not effective against gram negative bacteria because they possess two layers of cytoplasmic membranes. 
3. It is very important to understand the structure of a bacteria cell when developing an antibiotic because the effectiveness of the antibiotic depend on the knowledge of the structure of the bacteria and its mechanism of action. Understanding the structure of the bacteria will provides the antibiotic developer the knowledge of the best structure of the bacteria to attack in order to destroy it.
4. The antibiotics which are used as medications against bacteria are usually targeted at the cell wall of the bacteria and human cells do not have cell wall. The antibiotics works by specifically targeting and destroying the bacterial cell wall and invading the cell.
5.The class of antibiotic that should be prescribed for Sue is the sulfa antibiotics.
Sue is suffering from Neisseria menigiditis bacterial infection. Neisseria menigiditis is a gram negative bacteria and so penicillin is not effective against it. The sulfa class of antibiotic destroy the bacteria by interfering with the folic acid synthesis of the bacteria. It does this by preventing the addition of a chemical call PABA to the folic acid molecule during synthesis.
6. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses because, viruses use their host cells to carry out their activities. Antibiotics drugs are designed in such a way that they interfere with one or two of the processes that are vital to the survival of the bacterial cell, thus killing it. But this mechanism can not work in virus because viruses use their hosts' cells to replicate and survive.