This volume is the third in the series devoted to Antibiotics initiated by Springer Verlag in 1967. The first two volumes were devoted to the Mode of Action of Antibiotics and Biogenesis, respectively and were received graciously. During the intervening years these two works have been used often by research workers and students alike and have been quoted extensively. Although a number of other excellent treatises on antibiotics have appeared, the Springer series has set a standard for thoroughness and quality that meets the need of the scientific community. It is against this background that the present Editors set about the preparation of a third volume in the Series on Antibiotics. Since the appearance of Volume I, also dealing with Mechanism of Action, tremendous strides have been made in the depth and breadth of our knowledge of molecular biology, microbial chemistry and molecular pharmacology and of their direct application to studies on the mode of action of drugs. The field of molecular biology itself was in its relative infancy during the preceding decade and the unique role played by many anti biotics in the development of our understanding of nucleic acid synthesis and function and its relationship to protein synthesis and cell physiology has led rapidly to a very precise, understanding of how many of these same antibiotics inhibit susceptible cells.

Antibacterial agents act against bacterial infection either by killing the bacterium or by arresting its growth. They do this by targeting bacterial DNA and its associated processes, attacking bacterial metabolic processes including protein synthesis, or interfering with bacterial cell wall synthesis and function. Antibacterial Agents is an essential guide to this important class of chemotherapeutic drugs. Compounds are organised according to their target, which helps the reader understand the mechanism of action of these drugs and how resistance can arise. The book uses an integrated “lab-to-clinic” approach which covers drug discovery, source or synthesis, mode of action, mechanisms of resistance, clinical aspects (including links to current guidelines, significant drug interactions, cautions and contraindications), prodrugs and future improvements. Agents covered include: agents targeting DNA - quinolone, rifamycin, and nitroimidazole antibacterial agents agents targeting metabolic processes - sulfonamide antibacterial agents and trimethoprim agents targeting protein synthesis - aminoglycoside, macrolide and tetracycline antibiotics, chloramphenicol, and oxazolidinones agents targeting cell wall synthesis - β-Lactam and glycopeptide antibiotics, cycloserine, isonaizid, and daptomycin Antibacterial Agents will find a place on the bookshelves of students of pharmacy, pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, drug design/discovery, and medicinal chemistry, and as a bench reference for pharmacists and pharmaceutical researchers in academia and industry.

T. Brown, H. Holt Jr., M. Lee: Synthesis of Biologically Active Heterocyclic Stilbene and Chalcone Analogs of Combretastatin.- J.T. Gupton: Pyrrole Natural Products with Antitumor Properties.- Brian E. Love: Synthesis of Carbolines Possessing Antitumor Activity.- D.P. Arya: Diazo and Diazonium DNA Cleavage Agents: Studies on Model Systems and Natural Product Mechanisms of Action.- M. Daneshtalab: Novel Synthetic Antibacterial Agents.- S.N. Maiti, R.P. Kamalesh Babu, R. Shan: Overcoming Bacterial Resistance: Role of ß-Lactamase Inhibitors

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