Methicillin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| 6-(2,6-dimethoxybenzamido)-3,3-dimethyl- 7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane- 2-carboxylic acid |
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| CAS number 61-32-5 |
ATC code J01CF03 |
| PubChem CID 6087 |
DrugBank n/a |
| Chemical formula | C17H20N2O6S |
| Molecular weight | 380.42 |
| Bioavailability | ? (not orally-absorbed) |
| Metabolism | hepatic, 20–40% |
| Elimination half-life | 25–60 minutes |
| Excretion | renal |
| Pregnancy category | ? |
| Legal status | ? |
| Routes of administration | IV |
Methicillin (USAN) or meticillin (INN, BAN) is a narrow spectrum beta-lactam antibiotic. It was previously used to treat infections caused by susceptible Gram-positive bacteria, particularly beta-lactamase-producing organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus that would otherwise be resistant to most penicillins, but is no longer clinically used. Its role in therapy has been largely replaced by flucloxacillin and dicloxacillin, however the term methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) continues to be used to describe Staphylococcus aureus strains resistant to all penicillins.
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[edit] Mode of action
Main article: Beta-lactam antibiotic
Like other β-lactam antibiotics, methicillin acts by inhibiting the synthesis of bacterial cell walls. It inhibits cross-linkage between the linear peptidoglycan polymer chains that make up a major component of the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria.
[edit] Medicinal chemistry
Methicillin is insensitive to beta-lactamase (also known as penicillinase) enzymes secreted by many penicillin-resistant bacteria. The presence of the ortho-dimethoxyphenyl group directly attached to the side chain carbonyl group of the penicillin nucleus facilitates the β-lactamase resistance, since those enzymes are relatively intolerant of side-chain steric hindrance. Thus it is able to bind to penicillin binding proteins (PBPs) and inhibit peptidoglycan crosslinking, but is not bound by or inactivated by β-lactamases.
[edit] Clinical use
Methicillin is not commonly used in clinical practice, but serves a purpose in the laboratory to determine antibiotic sensitivity in microbiological culture. Methicillin was previously used to treat infections caused by susceptible Gram-positive bacteria. It is unstable in the presence of gastric acid, with a degradation half-life of 5 minutes at pH 2, so it must be administered by injection. (Mitscher, 2002)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Mitscher LA. Antibiotics and antimicrobial agents. In: Williams DA, Lemke TL, editors. Foye's Principles of medicinal chemistry, 5th edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2002.
