Which class of antibiotics does not include cell wall inhibitors?

The correct answer is based on the functioning mechanisms of different classes of antibiotics. Tetracyclines are a class of antibiotics that primarily inhibit protein synthesis rather than targeting the bacterial cell wall. They achieve their antibacterial effect by binding to the 30S ribosomal subunit, which prevents the addition of amino acids to the growing peptide chain during translation. This mechanism is fundamentally different from that of cell wall inhibitors, which disrupt the synthesis of peptidoglycan — a critical component of bacterial cell walls.

In contrast, penicillins, monobactams, and cephalosporins are all part of the beta-lactam group of antibiotics that specifically target cell wall synthesis. They inhibit enzymes called penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), which are essential for constructing the bacterial cell wall, leading to cell lysis and death. Given that the question specifically asks for the class that does not include cell wall inhibitors, tetracyclines stand out as the correct choice due to their distinct mechanism of action.