Antibiotics Used in Molecular Biology

About the author

Nick Oswald

Nick is a molecular biologist-turned-publisher. After a PhD in Developmental Biology and an eclectic seven years in biotech he is now Editorial Manager of Neuroendocrinology and the founder and Editor-In-Chief of Bitesize Bio. You are welcome to connect with Nick on LinkedIn

To enable tagging you will need to register on Bitesize Bio. We're sorry for the inconvenience, but it's free, only takes a few seconds, and it will enable you to view our seminars for free, ask questions from the professional community, and take part in the lively community of Bitesize Bio

antibiotics.jpgAntibiotics are used in a wide range of techniques in molecular biology. My aim with this post is to provide an easy reference to some of the main antibiotics used in molecular biology, their mechanisms, range and working concentrations. I hope you will find it useful. If I have missed out an antibiotic that you use routinely in your work, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment and and I will add it to the table.

Ampicillin-  	Beta-lactam-transpepsidase-Amphotericin B-cholesterol-Carbenicillin-peptidyl transferase-translation-Chloramphenicol-acetyltransferase--Erythromycin-Macrolide-ermC methyltransferase-Kanamycin-Aminoglycoside-initiation complex frame-shift-Kanamycin phosphotransferase-Gentamycin-Nystatin-Inhibits DNA dependent RNA polymerase-Streptomycin-Prevents aminoacyl tRNA from binding to 30S sub-unit-tetracyline-TetR-TN10

*Abbreviations: Gm(+/-)=Gram positive/negative; My=mycoplasma; F=fungus; Y=yeast. Ampicillin

Photo: Hugovk



6 comments on this article already!

  1. Ariel

    2 years ago

    In my lab we generally use 7 ug/mL for gentamycin

  2. sallap

    6 months ago

    Thanks for the table!
    Hygromycin B can be added.
    and we’ve been using Kan at 50ug/ml without problems.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you now have to register on Bitesize Bio. We're sorry for the inconvenience, but it's free, only takes a few seconds, and it will enable you to view our seminars for free, ask questions from the professional community, and take part in the lively community of Bitesize Bio

Register Now on Bitesize Bio

  • get access to our live online seminars
  • get members-only free downloads (coming soon)
  • ask and answer questions in our community
  • keep track of your favorite articles in myBsB
  • be part of the coolest bioscience site on the web
Register Log In