The adjective bactericide is used to qualify what kills bacteria (single-celled microbes that lack a differentiated nucleus and that, depending on the species, cause diseases or are responsible for the decomposition of organic matter). The term can be used as noun to refer to the product that has this capacity.
It can be said that a bactericide acts against bacteria such as fungicides against the mushrooms or the insecticides against the insects. However, it is important to differentiate between a bactericide and a bacteriostatic.
Bactericides destroy bacteria. Bacteriostats, on the other hand, do not kill them, but make their proliferation impossible by interrupting their growth. Thus, bacteriostats cancel the reproduction of bacteria, while bactericides directly end their life.
It can be said, therefore, that bactericides have an irreversible effect: once they are applied, if they are effective, they kill these microorganisms. Regarding the bacteriostatic, they make the bacteria unable to continue growing but remain alive.
Regarding the composition of the bactericides, they may contain acids organic or inorganic. These are usually volatile substances.
Between the antibiotics that are given to people, many times there are bactericidal products. The aminoglycosides, the glycopeptides and the beta-lactams, for example, are bactericidal antibiotics that are used in the treatment of different infections.
Take the case of vancomycin. This glycopeptide antibiotic inhibits the synthesis of the cell wall of the pneumococcus, the staphylococcus aureus and others gram positive bacteria causing diseases, having a bactericidal effect.
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