Antibiotics may be used to treat bacterial disease. One way in which antibiotics function is by preventing the formation of bacterial cell walls, resulting in osmotic lysis.

Bacteria in the body may cause disease, this can be treated by the use of antibiotics.

These work in a variety of ways to kill off bacteria. One way in which this can be one to cause osmotic lysis:

• Antibiotics can prevent the formation of the proteins for peptide cross linkages in cell walls
• This means that the cell wall which regulates water movement cannot be formed
• As a result, water moves by osmosis into the cell
• Eventually the cell will become too full and burst, this is called osmotic lysis