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 ...

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 the ...

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 am ...

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 infection ...

* Teicoplanin *

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, v ...

* Daptomycin *

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 sulfamethoxa ...

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 ...

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 Unite ...

(5th generation) * Ceftaroline (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 in ...

* Dalbavancin * Fusidic acid * Mupirocin (topical) * Omadacycline *

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 T ...

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. a ...

'': Certain cephalosporins: * Ceftazidime (3rd generation) * Cefepime (4th generation) *

(5th generation) * Ceftolozane/tazobactam * Ceftazidime/avibactam * Cefiderocol(siderophore cephalosporin) Certain Penicillin-class antimicrobials: * Piperacillin/tazobactam * Ticarcillin/clavulanic acid Certain carbapenems and carbapenem-beta-lactamase-inhibitors combinations: * Meropenem/vaborbactam * Imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam *

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 ...

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 * Polymyxins: Colistin, Polymyxin B * Aztreonam (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 ...

VRE

Antibiotics that cover vancomycin-resistant ''Enterococcus'' (VRE): *

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 *

* Daptomycin

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 beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The number of t ...

for a list of antibiotics sorted by target bacteria. Antibiotics coverage diagram

Note: (Bs): Bacteriostatic

Antibiotic candidates

These are antibiotic candidates, and known antibiotics that are not yet mass-produced.

Notes

References

{{Antibiotics social and layman issues Antibiotics