Doxycycline is mainly bacteriostatic with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity including chlamydias, mycoplasmas, rickettsias, and spirochaetes, and also aerobic and anaerobic Gram positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria, and some protozoa. Doxycycline is more active than tetracycline against many bacterial species including enterococci and various anaerobes. Doxycycline is also reported to be more active against protozoa, particularly Plasmodium spp. Doxycycline is taken up into sensitive bacterial cells by an active transport process. Once within the cell they bind reversibly to the 30S subunit of the ribosome, preventing the binding of amino acyl transfer RNA and inhibiting protein synthesis and hence cell growth.