The following is a list of antibiotics. The highest division between
antibiotic
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...
s is
bactericidal
A bactericide or bacteriocide, sometimes abbreviated Bcidal, is a substance which kills bacteria. Bactericides are disinfectants, antiseptics, or antibiotics.
However, material surfaces can also have bactericidal properties based solely on their ...
and
bacteriostatic
A bacteriostatic agent or bacteriostat, abbreviated Bstatic, is a biological or chemical agent that stops bacteria from reproducing, while not necessarily killing them otherwise. Depending on their application, bacteriostatic antibiotics, disinfect ...
. Bactericidals kill
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
directly, whereas bacteriostatics prevent them from dividing. However, these classifications are based on laboratory behavior.The development of antibiotics has had a profound effect on health in people for many years. Also, for both people and animals have used antibiotics to treat infections and diseases. In practice, both treat a bacterial infection.
By coverage
The following are lists of antibiotics for specific microbial coverage.
MRSA
Antibiotics that cover
methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA):
*
Vancomycin
Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections. It is recommended intravenously as a treatment for complicated skin infections, bloodstream infections, endocarditis, bone and joint infections, ...
*
Teicoplanin
Teicoplanin is an antibiotic used in the prophylaxis and treatment of serious infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' and ''Enterococcus faecalis''. It is a semisynthetic glycopeptide ...
*
Linezolid
Linezolid is an antibiotic used for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria that are resistant to other antibiotics. Linezolid is active against most Gram-positive bacteria that cause disease, including streptococci, van ...
*
Daptomycin
Daptomycin, sold under the brand name Cubicin among others, is a lipopeptide antibiotic used in the treatment of systemic and life-threatening infections caused by Gram-positive organisms.
Daptomycin was removed from the World Health Organiza ...
*
Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole
Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, sold under the brand name Bactrim among others, is a fixed-dose combination antibiotic medication used to treat a variety of bacterial infections. It consists of one part trimethoprim to five parts sulfamethoxazo ...
*
Doxycycline
Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum tetracycline class antibiotic used in the treatment of infections caused by bacteria and certain parasites. It is used to treat bacterial pneumonia, acne, chlamydia infections, Lyme disease, cholera, typhus, an ...
*
Ceftobiprole
Ceftobiprole (Zevtera/Mabelio) is a fifth-generation cephalosporin for the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia (excluding ventilator-associated pneumonia) and community-acquired pneumonia. It is marketed by Basilea Pharmaceutica in the Unit ...
(5th generation)
*
Ceftaroline
Ceftaroline fosamil (INN) , brand name Teflaro in the US and Zinforo in Europe, is a cephalosporin antibiotic with anti-MRSA activity. Ceftaroline fosamil is a prodrug of ceftaroline. It is active against methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococc ...
(5th generation)
*
Clindamycin
Clindamycin is an antibiotic medication used for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections, including osteomyelitis (bone) or joint infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, strep throat, pneumonia, acute otitis media (middle ear infec ...
*
Dalbavancin
Dalbavancin, sold under the brand names Dalvance in the US and Xydalba in the EU among others, is a second-generation lipoglycopeptide antibiotic medication. It belongs to the same class as vancomycin, the most widely used and one of the treatm ...
*
Fusidic acid
*
Mupirocin
Mupirocin, sold under the brand name Bactroban among others, is a topical antibiotic useful against superficial skin infections such as impetigo or folliculitis. It may also be used to get rid of methicillin-resistant ''S. aureus'' (MRSA) when ...
(topical)
*
Omadacycline
Omadacycline, sold under the brand name Nuzyra, is a broad spectrum antibiotic medication belonging to the aminomethylcycline subclass of tetracycline antibiotics. In the United States, it was approved in October 2018, for the treatment of commu ...
*
Oritavancin
Oritavancin, sold under the brand name Orbactiv among others, is a semisynthetic glycopeptide antibiotic medication for the treatment of serious Gram-positive bacterial infections. Its chemical structure as a lipoglycopeptide is similar to vanc ...
*
Tedizolid
Tedizolid (formerly torezolid, trade name Sivextro), is an oxazolidinone-class antibiotic. Tedizolid phosphate is a phosphate ester prodrug of the active compound tedizolid. It was developed by Cubist Pharmaceuticals, following acquisition of Tr ...
*
Telavancin
Telavancin (trade name Vibativ) is a bactericidal lipoglycopeptide for use in MRSA or other Gram-positive infections. Telavancin is a semi-synthetic derivative of vancomycin.
The FDA approved the drug in September 2009 for complicated skin and ...
*
Tigecycline
Tigecycline, sold under the brand name Tygacil, is an tetracycline antibiotic medication for a number of bacterial infections. It is a glycylcycline administered intravenously. It was developed in response to the growing rate of antibiotic resist ...
(also covers gram negatives)
''Pseudomonas aeruginosa''
Antibiotics that cover ''
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aerugi ...
'':
Certain cephalosporins:
*
Ceftazidime
Ceftazidime, sold under the brand name Fortaz among others, is a third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections. Specifically it is used for joint infections, meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, ...
(3rd generation)
*
Cefepime
Cefepime is a fourth-generation cephalosporin antibiotic. Cefepime has an extended spectrum of activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with greater activity against both types of organism than third-generation agents. A 2007 ...
(4th generation)
*
Ceftobiprole
Ceftobiprole (Zevtera/Mabelio) is a fifth-generation cephalosporin for the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia (excluding ventilator-associated pneumonia) and community-acquired pneumonia. It is marketed by Basilea Pharmaceutica in the Unit ...
(5th generation)
*
Ceftolozane/tazobactam
*
Ceftazidime/avibactam
Ceftazidime/avibactam, sold under the brand name Avycaz among others, is a fixed-dose combination medication composed of ceftazidime, a cephalosporin antibiotic, and avibactam, a β-lactamase inhibitor. It is used to treat complicated intra-ab ...
*
Cefiderocol
Cefiderocol, sold under the brand name Fetroja among others, is an antibiotic used to treat complicated urinary tract infections when no other options are available. It is indicated for the treatment of multi-drug-resistant Gram-negative bacter ...
(siderophore cephalosporin)
Certain Penicillin-class antimicrobials:
*
Piperacillin/tazobactam
Piperacillin/tazobactam, sold under the brand name Zosyn among others, is a combination medication containing the antibiotic piperacillin and the β-lactamase inhibitor
Beta-lactamases, (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteri ...
*
Ticarcillin/clavulanic acid
Ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, or co-ticarclav, is a combination antibiotic consisting of ticarcillin, a β-lactam antibiotic, and clavulanic acid, a β-lactamase inhibitor. This combination results in an antibiotic with an increased spectrum of ac ...
Certain carbapenems and carbapenem-beta-lactamase-inhibitors combinations:
*
Meropenem/vaborbactam
Meropenem/vaborbactam, sold under the brand name Vabomere among others, is a combination medication used to treat complicated urinary tract infections, complicated abdominal infections, and hospital-acquired pneumonia. It contains meropenem, a ...
*
Imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam
Imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam, sold under the brand name Recarbrio, is a fixed-dose combination medication used as an antibiotic. In 2019, it was approved for use in the United States for the treatment of complicated urinary tract and complicat ...
*
Carbapenem
Carbapenems are a class of very effective antibiotic agents most commonly used for the treatment of severe bacterial infections. This class of antibiotics is usually reserved for known or suspected multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections. ...
s: (meropenem, imipenem/cilastatin - NOT ertapenem)
Others:
*
Fluoroquinolone
A quinolone antibiotic is a member of a large group of broad-spectrum bacteriocidals that share a bicyclic core structure related to the substance 4-quinolone. They are used in human and veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infections, as wel ...
s
*
Polymyxin
Polymyxins are antibiotics. Polymyxins B and E (also known as colistin) are used in the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections. They work mostly by breaking up the bacterial cell membrane. They are part of a broader class of molecules ...
s: Colistin, Polymyxin B
*
Aztreonam
Aztreonam, sold under the brand name Azactam among others, is an antibiotic used primarily to treat infections caused by gram-negative bacteria such as ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa''. This may include bone infections, endometritis, intra abdominal ...
(monobactam)
*
Aminoglycoside
Aminoglycoside is a medicinal and bacteriologic category of traditional Gram-negative antibacterial medications that inhibit protein synthesis and contain as a portion of the molecule an amino-modified glycoside (sugar). The term can also refer ...
s
VRE
Antibiotics that cover
vancomycin-resistant ''Enterococcus'' (VRE):
*
Linezolid
Linezolid is an antibiotic used for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria that are resistant to other antibiotics. Linezolid is active against most Gram-positive bacteria that cause disease, including streptococci, van ...
*
Streptogramin Streptogramins are a class of antibiotics.
Streptogramins are effective in the treatment of vancomycin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (VRSA) and vancomycin-resistant ''Enterococcus'' (VRE), two of the most rapidly growing strains of multidru ...
s
*
Tigecycline
Tigecycline, sold under the brand name Tygacil, is an tetracycline antibiotic medication for a number of bacterial infections. It is a glycylcycline administered intravenously. It was developed in response to the growing rate of antibiotic resist ...
*
Daptomycin
Daptomycin, sold under the brand name Cubicin among others, is a lipopeptide antibiotic used in the treatment of systemic and life-threatening infections caused by Gram-positive organisms.
Daptomycin was removed from the World Health Organiza ...
By class
''See also
pathogenic bacteria
Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. This article focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and are often Probiotic, beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The n ...
for a list of antibiotics sorted by target bacteria.
Note: (Bs): Bacteriostatic
Antibiotic candidates
These are antibiotic candidates, and known antibiotics that are not yet mass-produced.
See also
*
Timeline of antibiotics
This is the timeline of modern antimicrobial (anti-infective) therapy.
The years show when a given drug was released onto the pharmaceutical
market. This is not a timeline of the development of the antibiotics themselves.
* 1911 – Arsphenamin ...
, listed by year of introduction
*
Pathogenic bacteria
Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. This article focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and are often Probiotic, beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The n ...
Notes
References
{{Antibiotics social and layman issues
Antibiotics