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Because bacterial cells and human cells aren't the same. Penicillin works by interfering with how bacterial cell walls are built, and human cells don't have bacterial cell walls. (Turns out all bacterial cells aren't the same, either, but penicillin works against a lot of them.) One of the challenges in medicine is finding antibiotics that work against bacteria's Biology, but that don't interfere with human biology. This is called selectivity. It's a really important principle of medications against all infections (you want the drug to selectively kill the infecting organism instead of your own cells) and against cancer, too (you want the drug to selectively kill the cancer cells instead of the healthy ones).
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∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoBacteria cells are different than animal cells. Bacteria have cell walls that provide them with structure. Animal cells don't have cell walls, and humans are made of animal cells.
All penicillin type drugs prevent the Bacteria from making the cell wall so they die.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoAntibiotics are made to only kill the desired bacteria it's made for (which is why the bacteria might have to be tested to figure out what kind will kill it) so the antibiotic won't kill the cells.
Bacteria (prokaryotes) and human (eukaryotic) cells differ in several ways. One way in which bacteria and human cells differ is that bacteria contain a cell wall that surrounds their cell membrane. Human cells do not have cell walls. Thus, antibiotics like penicillin target a polymer that makes up bacterial cell walls called peptidoglycan, and essentially break it down, causing the bacteria to lyse and die (or inhibit bacterial cell division). There are other differences between bacteria and human cells that antibiotics can target, but penicillin's effect on peptidoglycan is a common example.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoPenicillin acts on the peptidoglycan chains which make up the bacterial cell wall. While plant cells have a cell wall, plant cell walls are not made of peptidoglycan molecules.
See related links for more information on different types of cell walls and for more information on how penicillin works.
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∙ 11y agoThe penicillin kills bacteria by interfering with repairs to the bacterial cell wall. Human cells don't have a cell wall, and don't use the same enzymes that make the bacteria vulnerable.
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∙ 12y agoAdd your answer:
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What is an explanation of how antibiotics kill bacteria?
antibiotics kill bacteria by penicillin that works by weakening the cell walls of some bacteria and causing the cells to burst
How does antibiotics help bacterial infections?
Antibiotics either directly kill bacteria cells or inhibit bacteria cells from dividing, thus allowing the body to eliminate the infection.
What kind of drugs can kill bacteria?
The types of drugs that can kill bacteria are called 'antibiotics'.
Why do protein synthesis inhibitor a.k.a antibiotics affect bacteria only but not human cells?
most of the antibiotics kill or inactivate bacteria by inhibitting the protein synthesis... protein synthesis consists of 'transcription' and 'translation'.. the translation process requiers mRNA and ribosomes.Human(eukaryotic) ribosome is different from bacterial(prokaryotic) ribosome... Antibiotics inhibit the protein synthesis by altering the ribosomal constitution.Since human ribosomes are different from bacterial ribosome,the substances which are harmful to bacterial ribosome doesn't harm human ribosomes.. Thus human cells are immune to antibiotics..
What compound kills bacteria without harming the cells of humans?
They are called antibiotics (meaning against life) and generally interfere in only a few specific chemical reactions, those found in bacterial cells but not human cells.
How do antibiotics control disease?
Antibiotics kill bacteria.
Drug that can kill bacteria?
Bacteria are generally killed by antibiotics which are prepared by either or bacteria or microorganisms and are specifically known as BACTERIOCIDAL
Why would it be more difficult to treat diseases in humans caused by members of the Eucarya than diseases caused by the Bacteria?
The organisms that cause the diseases that we are looking at and human cells are both eukaryotic cells, so only certain drug can be used to rid the both of the infection without harming the human body. When we use antibiotics to kill bacteria, it is usually targeted at the cell wall. This doesn't kill human cells because their cells don't have a cell wall.
Why is there not a cure for salmonella?
The trick with curing a bacterial infection is to find something that will kill that particular type of bacteria, but which will not kill human cells. Since the biochemistry of human cells is very similar to that of bacteria, most of the things that kill bacteria will also kill human cells. You do not want to cure a disease at the expense of killing the patient. So, there is no guarantee that such cures can be found. You can do research into various antibiotics, but you may or may not find something that works. Furthermore, even when you do find a good antibiotic, bacteria tend to evolve resistant strains which can no longer be killed by that particular antibiotic. Bacteria are very tough, adaptable organisms. Do not underestimate them.
Why ionophore antibiotics do not kill even your human cells but only bacterial ones?
Only microbes have ionophones, which are channels in their membranes. By blocking them using antibiotics, the cell will die as they can not bring ions in and out of their cells. Human cells don't have these and so are not affected by those antibiotics.
Why the antibiotics are ineffective against viral diseases?
Antibiotics kill bacteria by recognising the antibodies secreted by the bacteria, then attach themselves to the bacteria and give out a signal calling for white blood cells (phagocytes) to eat up the bacteria. Viruses do not secrete the antibodies recognised by antibiotics as they do not resemble proper cells, therefore antibiotics cannot recognise viruses and thus they cannot be digested by phagocytes.
Why cant you use antibiotics to kill virus but bacteria can be killed by antibiotics?
Because bacteria and viruses are two completely different things. Antibiotics - as their name implies - will kill bacteria, but antibiotics simply have no effect on viruses.
