Antimicrobial agents affecting membrane function

Although biological membranes are generally impermeable they contain components which can permit or catalyse the translocation of specific solutes between the two sides of the membrane. Hence the membrane represents a region of chemical anisotrophy between two phases of different chemical composition. This means that the membrane experiences mechanical stress through differences in pressure across the membranes thickness and this sets up corresponding tensions in the plane of the membrane. The unique physical and biological properties exhibited by biological membranes make the components that constitute bacterial membranes very distinct from other cellular materials. Pure cytoplasmic membrane constitutes approximately 10% of total cell weight, mainly protein (50–70%) and lipid (20–30%) depending on species (Rogers, et al 1980). These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.