Aminoglycosides

Aminoglycosides

are a class of antibiotics used to treat serious

infections caused by bacteria that either multiply
very quickly or are difficult to
treat.Aminoglycosides are called bactericidal
antibiotics because they kill bacteria directly.
For example, gentamicin and tobramycin may be
used in the treatment of meningitis, sepsis,
and pneumonia; amikacin is commonly used in the
treatment of infections that are resistant to other
aminoglycosides; and neomycin is used in the
treatment of skin infections associated
with wounds and burns.
• The aminoglycosides are poorly absorbed from
the gastrointestinal tract and therefore are given
parenterally, via intramuscular or intravenous
injection, or topically, via application to the skin. 
• The toxicities associated with aminoglycosides
are severe and are sometimes irreversible,
and the margin of safety between a toxic and a
therapeutic dose is narrow. 

1.Nephrotoxicity (impairment
of kidney function) 2.Ototoxicity (impairment of
the organs of hearing and balance) are the
most common side effects of aminoglycosides.
 Mechanism Of Action
• Aminoglycosides are selectively active against
oxygen-dependent (aerobic), gram-negative
bacterial cells, since these cells possess the
chemical characteristics that attract aminoglycosides
and the specific transport mechanisms
that facilitate the uptake of the drugs into the cells.
Once inside bacterial cells, aminoglycosides exert
their effects by binding to ribosomes, organelles that
are fundamental to protein synthesis. As a
result, protein synthesis is inhibited, and the
bacterial cell dies.
• The aminoglycosides also have a post-antibiotic
effect, in which bacterial cell killing continues for a
brief period of time after the blood plasma
concentration of the antibiotic has fallen below
the so-called minimal inhibitory concentration (the
smallest amount of drug necessary to induce cell-
killing effects).
Examples of aminoglycosides
Amikacin
Gentamicin
Gentak eyedrops
Kanamycin
Streptomycin
Tobramycin
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