Biology of Antibiotics

This book is based on Hans Zahner's Biologie der Antibiotica, published in 1965. There is a vast literature on antibiotics, covering chemical, phar­ macological, and clinical aspects. We have made no attempt to cover this literature comprehensively. Our effort is directed toward discuss­ ing antibiotics as biological agents. They are substances produced by living cells, yet they are able to inhibit the growth of living cells - in many cases even the cells that produce them. We have taken this ap