Question

Discuss the meaning and importance of selective toxicity as it relates to antimicrobials.

Answer 1

An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or inhibits their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria and antifungals are used against fungi.

Selective toxicity refers to the ability of the drug to targets sites that are relative specific to the microorganism responsible for infection. Sometimes these sites are unique to the microorganism or simply more essential to survival of the microorganism than to the host.

Selective theory relates to antimicrobial because the antimicrobial is the drug that kills microorganisms and inhibits there growth,  selective theory is the ability of the drug.