Today's subject is close to my heart, or more desirably, close to my sinus cavities. I know that antibiotics are good for killing off bacterial infections in your body, but it occurs to me that I don't actually know the mechanism by which it happens.
So, thanks to Wikipedia, now I do. Penicillin has something called a β-lactam ring in its molecular structure. This structure binds to a protein in the cell wall of bacteria, interfering with reproduction and maintenance of the cell wall. When the cell tries to split, it ends up with a larger cell with no cell wall.
So, thanks to Wikipedia, now I do. Penicillin has something called a β-lactam ring in its molecular structure. This structure binds to a protein in the cell wall of bacteria, interfering with reproduction and maintenance of the cell wall. When the cell tries to split, it ends up with a larger cell with no cell wall.
The new, naked cell will take on water and eventually burst. You can see a similar process here:
So here's hoping there are lots of bursting bacterial cells in my system today. Sounds like popcorn.
Image credits: Wikipedia
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