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AAT Bioquest

Why do antibiotics not work on viruses?

Posted August 15, 2024


Answer

Antibiotics target bacteria by breaking down their cell membranes and stopping them from reproducing. However, since viruses aren't cells and don't have cell membranes, antibiotics are not effective against them. Instead of having a cell membrane, viruses have a protective protein layer around them. 

Additional resources

Why Don’t Antibiotics Kill Viruses?

Serology Assays for Antibody Detection

Covidyte™ EN450