What are ways in which an antibiotic can kill or inhibit the growth of a bacterium?
1 Answer
An antibiotic works on the basis of competitive inhibition.
Explanation:
Chemicals present in an antibiotic have a structure similar to the substrate required for the enzyme to act upon. When the enzyme would not get the required substrate, it wouldn't let the bacteria thrive.
This is accomplished by competitive inhibition. The antibiotic chemical binds with the enzyme active site and does not let the required substrate act upon it.
In this way, the required products are not formed, hence inhibiting the bacteria's survival.
