Difference Between Antibacterial and Antimicrobial

Antibacterial and antimicrobial are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. The difference between the two lies in their scope of activity. Antibacterial refers to agents that are specifically designed to target and kill bacteria, while antimicrobial refers to agents that target a broader range of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. In this essay, we will explore the differences between antibacterial and antimicrobial agents.

What are Antibacterial Agents?

Antibacterial agents are designed to specifically target bacteria. They work by either killing the bacteria outright or inhibiting their growth and replication. Antibacterial agents are commonly used to treat bacterial infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and strep throat. Examples of commonly used antibacterial agents include penicillin, amoxicillin, and cephalosporins.

Chemotherapeutics are synthetically produced antibacterial agents.

Bacteria are capable to develop resistance to certain medications by various mechanisms, the most common being mutations of certain genes that increase their resistance. As a result of widespread and injudicious use of antibacterials, there is an increasing emergence of antibiotic- resistant pathogens. This results in a serious threat to global public health.

Different antibacterial preparations have different mechanisms of action. For example, the group of penicillins binds to specific structures in the bacteria, thus activating enzymes in their walls, leading to self-destruction. Tetracyclines, suppressing some stages of protein synthesis in microorganisms, lead to the cessation of their propagation. Polymyksins destroy the permeability of the bacterial membrane. They act destructively primarily on gram-negative bacteria.

What are Antimicrobial Agents?

Antimicrobial agents, on the other hand, are broader in their activity and can target a range of microorganisms. They are often used to treat infections that are caused by a variety of microorganisms, such as viral infections, fungal infections, and parasitic infections. Antimicrobial agents include antiviral drugs, antifungal drugs, and antiparasitic drugs. Examples of commonly used antimicrobial agents include acyclovir (used to treat viral infections), fluconazole (used to treat fungal infections), and metronidazole (used to treat parasitic infections).

The major groups of antimicrobials include antibacterial agents, antivirals, antimycotic agents, antiparasitic agents, essential oils, disinfectants, and antiseptics.

Antibacterial agents include antibiotics produced by bacteria or fungi and chemotherapeutics, which are synthetically produced.

Anti-viral drugs are characterized by a narrow spectrum of action. There is little difference between the maximum therapeutic and minimal toxic doses, so they have to be applied with caution. The main groups of antivirals target several major viral families – retroviruses, hepatitis and herpes viruses, and influenza viruses. They are prescribed to infected persons, contact patients, or healthy hosts. Their main purpose is to kill the viruses or suppress their multiplication. Examples for such preparations are oseltamivir, rimantadine, and amantadine, used against the influenza virus.

Human and fungal cells are both eukaryotic, which makes it difficult to synthesize a preparation that is active against the fungi and safe for the cells of the host. Preparations used in the treatment of mycotic infections (antimycotic agents) are antibiotics and chemotherapeutics that damage pathogenic fungi by various mechanisms. They affect the permeability of the cell membrane, inhibit cell division, inhibit cell wall synthesis or essential nucleic acids synthesis. The most commonly used antimycotic agents belong to the group of azoles (ketoconazole, fluconazole), allylamines (terbinafine) and polyene antibiotics (amphotericin B, nystatin).

Antiparasitic agents are used in infections caused by different worm species (nematodes, trematodes, cestodes) or protozoan species (malaria, trichomoniasis, toxoplasmosis).

A number of essential oils have an antimicrobial effect, including cinnamon, clove, and thyme oil that are rich in terpenoid substances and secondary metabolites.

Antiseptics and disinfectants destroy all microorganisms and are mainly used for disinfection of skin, mucous membranes, medical instruments, clothing, water, etc.

Ozone also has antimicrobial activity. It is mainly used to purify water and air. In medicine, so- called ozone therapy is used in inflammatory, neoplastic, autoimmune, and infectious diseases.

Differences: Antibacterial and Antimicrobial

One of the key differences between antibacterial and antimicrobial agents is the scope of activity. Antibacterial agents are specifically designed to target bacteria and are not effective against other types of microorganisms. Antimicrobial agents, on the other hand, have a broader range of activity and can target a variety of microorganisms.

Another difference between the two is their mechanism of action. Antibacterial agents work by targeting specific structures or processes in bacterial cells. For example, penicillin works by inhibiting the formation of the bacterial cell wall, which is essential for bacterial growth and replication. Antimicrobial agents, on the other hand, can work in a variety of ways depending on the type of microorganism they are targeting. For example, antiviral drugs can work by preventing the virus from entering human cells, by inhibiting the replication of the virus, or by stimulating the immune system to fight the infection.

The choice between using an antibacterial or an antimicrobial agent depends on the type of infection that is being treated. If the infection is known to be caused by bacteria, an antibacterial agent is the appropriate choice. If the infection is caused by a variety of microorganisms, an antimicrobial agent may be more appropriate.

The following table highlights the major differences between Antibacterial and Antimicrobial Agents −

Characteristics	Antibacterial	Antimicrobial
Definition	Antibacterial is an agent that destroys bacteria and fungi, suppresses their growth or their ability to reproduce.	Antimicrobial is an agent that destroys microorganisms, suppresses their growth or their ability to reproduce.
Classification	Antimicrobial is an agent that destroys microorganisms, suppresses their growth or their ability to reproduce.	Antimicrobial agents include antibacterial agents, antivirals, antimycotic agents, antiparasitic agents, some essential oils, disinfectants, and antiseptics.
Morphology	Antibacterial agents are widely used in clinical practice and are prescribed in many infections with bacterial or mycotic etiology.	Antimicrobial agents are used for the treatment of bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic diseases, for disinfection of skin, mucous membranes, medical instruments, clothing, water, etc.
Examples	Examples of antibacterial agents are aminoglycosides, amphenicols, glycopeptide antibiotics, carbapenems, macrolides, penicillins, quinolones, etc.	Examples of antimicrobial agents are carbapenems, macrolides, penicillins, quinolones, oseltamivir, rimantadine, amantadine, ketoconazole, fluconazole, etc.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Antibacterial agents destroy bacteria and fungi, suppresses their growth or their ability to reproduce, while Antimicrobial agents destroy microorganisms or suppresses their growth.