Antifungals and Antivirals
Start with the big picture
Antifungal agents in this topic include polyenes, azoles, echinocandins, allylamines, flucytosine, and griseofulvin. Their actions range from disrupting fungal membranes and cell walls to blocking ergosterol synthesis, nucleic-acid production, or microtubule assembly. Structural features can influence activity, selectivity, and route of use, while resistance may arise through target changes, altered activation, or efflux. The antiviral section introduces nucleoside analogs for HSV/VZV and agents used against other viral targets. It compares drugs that require viral or host-enzyme activation with agents that act without it, and links these differences to chain termination, resistance, and adverse effects. The full lesson develops these relationships across specific drug classes.
What you'll learn
- Relate polyene binding to ergosterol with fungal membrane pore formation.
- Compare how major antifungal classes disrupt distinct fungal targets.
- Identify structural features associated with antifungal activity or selectivity.
- Explain activation and chain termination by selected antiviral nucleoside analogs.
- Recognize resistance mechanisms and notable adverse effects described for these classes.
Continue your study
Work through the complete notes and reinforce the topic with the study tools available in the full lesson.
