Final answer:
Aminoglycoside antibiotics share a structural characteristic of containing a cyclic sugar, specifically an aminocyclitol, enabling them to bind to bacterial ribosomes and disrupt protein synthesis, leading to bacterial cell death.
Step-by-step explanation:
Aminoglycoside antibiotics are related structurally in that they all contain a cyclic sugar moiety, known as an aminocyclitol.
These antibiotics, including drugs such as streptomycin, gentamicin, neomycin, and kanamycin, share a common structural framework that features one or more aminosugars connected to an aminocyclitol ring. This framework allows them to bind to the 30S subunit of bacterial ribosomes and disrupt protein synthesis. By impairing the proofreading ability of the ribosomal complex, aminoglycosides induce mismatches between codons and anticodons.
As a result, this causes the bacterial cell to produce proteins with incorrect amino acids and shortened proteins that can damage the cytoplasmic membrane, leading to the bacterial cell's death.The effectiveness of aminoglycosides as broad-spectrum antibacterials is offset by their potential for causing harm to the kidneys (nephrotoxic), nervous system (neurotoxic), and ears (ototoxic).