Lymecycline is a tetracycline antibiotic that inhibits cell growth by inhibiting translation. Lymecycline is lipophilic and can diffuse across bacterial cell membranes or travel through membrane porin channels. Once inside the bacterial cell, it reversibly binds to the bacterial 30S ribosomal subunit and prevents aminoacyl tRNA from binding to the A site of the ribosome-RNA complex; aminoacyl tRNA binding inhibition likely occurs through steric hindrance. This results in inhibition of bacterial protein synthesis and hence cell growth.