Final answer:
The drug blocking phosphoglucoisomerase would not be a good antibacterial treatment for human use because it could also poison human cells, as they too perform glycolysis. This would violate the principle of selective toxicity, which aims to target bacterial cells without impacting human cells.
Step-by-step explanation:
A chemist has discovered a drug that blocks phosphoglucoisomerase. This drug would NOT be a good antibacterial treatment for human use because human cells also perform glycolysis, so the drug might also poison them. Glycolysis is a crucial metabolic pathway that occurs in nearly all organisms, including humans and bacteria. It is the process by which cells break down glucose into pyruvate to generate ATP, which is used as an energy source for various cellular functions.
In the context of antibacterial treatment, it is important to design drugs that target bacterial cells without harming human cells. This principle of selective toxicity is crucial; antibacterials must selectively inhibit bacterial physiology without damaging host tissues. For instance, drugs that inhibit enzymes unique to bacterial cell wall synthesis are often successful because human cells lack the same structures and hence are unaffected by the drug.
Furthermore, blocking glycolysis in human cells, such as red blood cells which rely heavily on glycolysis due to the absence of mitochondria for aerobic respiration, could lead to serious adverse effects. Therefore, the development of broad inhibitors that disrupt fundamental processes common to both bacteria and humans is generally avoided due to the risk of cytotoxicity.