The difference between a synthetic drug and a semisynthetic drug is that
a. the semisynthetic drug is a modified synthetic drug.
b. the synthetic drug is a modified natural drug.
c. the synthetic drug is a modified semisynthetic drug.
d. the semisynthetic drug is a modified natural drug.

Which of the following antimicrobial properties would be the most crucial to consider in developing a new antimicrobial?

a. Selective toxicity

b. Ease of administration

c. Lack of drug interactions

d. Long half-life

e. The drug’s capacity to be bactericidal

Assume a bacterium makes beta-lactamase. Could you still use a glycopeptide drug to treat an infection caused by this bacterium? Explain your reasoning.

Which drug family would be the most effective to treat a patient diagnosed with a MRSA infection?

a. Penicillins

b. Third-generation cephalosporins

c. Carbapenems

d. Lincosamides

e. Aminoglycosides

Choose the true statement(s) about therapeutic index (TI). Select all that apply.

a. A drug with a high therapeutic index would be effective above the dose at which it is potentially toxic.

b. A narrow TI is preferable.

c. A drug for which the maximum safe dose is close to the minimum effective dose would have a high TI.

d. It is one measure of a drug’s general safety.

e. A drug that is not selectively toxic would most likely have a high TI.

What advantages might a semisynthetic antimicrobial drug have over an antibiotic?

Assume a clinical sample yields a strain of S. aureus containing a plasmid that encodes two antimicrobial-resistance genes. How did the bacterium most likely acquire these new resistance genes?

a. The strain was intrinsically resistant.

b. The strain obtained the genes through horizontal gene transfer.

c. The strain acquired the genes by a random mutation.

d. The strain picked up the genes by an efflux pump.

e. The strain acquired the genes through cell division events.