Classification of Antimicrobials?

Antimicrobials can be divided into two classifications based upon their effects on target cell. Drugs that actually exterminate microorganisms are termed bactericidal. Drugs that individual inhibit the growth of microorganisms are termed bacteriostatic. The verdict to use a bactericidal or bacteriostatic drug to treat infection depends entirely upon the type of infection. For example, bactericidal drugs will only massacre cells that are actively growing. Bacteriostatic drugs, surrounded by comparison, will only inhibit the growth of cell; ultimate ending of the organisms is dependent upon host phagocytic activity.
Antimicrobials are also classified base on their mechanism of motion. For example, there are cell wall inhibitors (such as penicillin), protein synthesis inhibitors (such as tetracycline), folate antagonists (like sulfonamides), and others. In mixing, they can be classified by the type of organism they affect (gram positive vs. gram negative, for example).