Can derivatives of current antimicrobials be the answer to solving infections that are treated by beta-lactams? We...

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Can derivatives of current antimicrobials be the answer tosolving infections that are treated by beta-lactams?
We discussed in class that beta-lactams have become resistantagainst microbes because they have developed the ability to alterprotein receptors making beta-lactams unable to bind. This articlediscusses a new antimicrobial that would attack againstStreptomyces cattleya. Penems the new development contains a\"sulfur atom within the ring\" allowing binding. This \"high affinityfor penicillin receptors\" allows the halt of bacterial growth.These have been a solution with vast research in recentdevelopments the past 25 years because it is only \"slightlysusceptible to hydrolysis by type I cephalosporinases.\"
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lactam antibiotics have been widely used in the prevention and treatment of a variety of human bacterial infections Although they can be classified into penicillin cephalosporin carbapenem and monobactam subclasses all have a chemical structure called a lactam ring and carry out bactericidal activity through binding to penicillinbinding proteins and inhibiting synthesis of the bacterial peptidoglycan cell wall Some types of bacteria can produce lactamases which are enzymes capable of destroying and inactivating lactam antibiotics Production of lactamases is one of the prime mechanisms for bacterial resistance to lactam antibiotics lactamases have different properties and preferred substrates antibiotics For example some are specific for penicillins ie penicillinases and some preferably destroy cephalosporins ie cephalosporinases To date more than 200 different lactamases have been described The molecular classification based on their amino sequences is presented in Table lactam antibiotics are generally regarded as safe agents because they target the bacterias cell wall which does not exist in human cells However hypersensitivity to antibiotics should be considered The most likely form of hypersensitivity is dermatological reaction Anaphylactic reaction is rare but can under certain conditions be serious and even fatal Penicillin The penicillin subclass of lactam antibiotics has a long history and remains one of the most important groups of antibiotics Penicillin agents are derived directly or indirectly from strains of fungi of the genus Penicillium and other soilinhabiting fungi Penicillin antibiotics are generally divided into two categories natural biosynthetic and semisynthetic Natural penicillins include penicillin G and penicillin V These are not expensive and are still widely used See Answer

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