Microbial Cell Wall Inhibitors
Introduction
- Some antimicrobial drugs selectively interfere with synthesis of the bacterial cell wall—a structure that mammalian cells do not possess. Microbial Cell Wall Inhibitors are drugs that selectively interfere with synthesis of the bacterial cell wall.
- The cell wall is composed of a polymer called peptidoglycan that consists of glycan units joined to each other by peptide cross-links.
- To be maximally effective, inhibitors of cell wall synthesis require actively proliferating microorganisms. They have little or no effect on bacteria that are not growing and dividing.
Classification
Cell Wall Inhibitors are classified as following :
a. β-Lactam Antibiotics : These are antibiotics having a β-lactam ring.
1. Penicillins : Penicillin was the first antibiotic to be used clinically in 1941 . It was originally obtained from the fungus Penicillium notatum, but the present source is a high yielding mutant of P. chrysogenum.
- Narrow Spectrum Penicillins
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- Extended spectrum Penicillins:
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β- Lactamase inhibitors : β-lactamases are a family of enzymes produced by many gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria that inactivate β-lactam antibiotics by opening the β-lactam ring. Different β-lactamases differ in their substrate affinities.
e.g.
- Clavulanic acid
- Tazobactam
- Sulbactam
2. Cephalosporins : These are a group of semisynthetic antibiotics derived from ‘cephalosporin-C’ obtained from a fungus Cephalosporium. Cephalosporins have been classified as first, second, third, fourth, and advanced generation, based largely on their bacterial susceptibility patterns and resistance to β-lactamases.
- Oral (O), Parenteral (P)
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3. Carbapenems
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4. Monobactams
- Aztreonam
B. Glycopeptide Antibiotics
- Vancomycin
- Teicoplanin
C. Others
- Bacitracin
- Fosfomycin
- Daptomycin
- Telavancin
