Industrial Production of Penicillins and Tetracyclines Penicillins are -lactam antibiotics
Natural and biosynthetic penicillins
Semisynthetic penicillins
Broad spectrum of activity
Penicillin production is typical of a secondary metabolite
Production only begins after near-exhaustion of carbon source
High levels of glucose repress penicillin production
In 1928, Sir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish biologist, observed that Penicillium notatum, a common mold, had destroyed staphylococcus bacteria in culture.
He took a sample of the mold from the contaminated plate. He found that it was from the Penicillium family, later specified as Penicillium notatum. Fleming presented his findings in 1929, but they raised little interest. He published a report on penicillin and its potential uses in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology.
MOA OF PENICILLIN
All penicillin like antibiotics inhibit synthesis of peptidoglycan, an essential part of the cell wall.
They do not interfere with the synthesis of other intracellular components.
These antibiotics do not affect human cells because human cells do not have cell walls. Spectrum of Activity
Penicillins are active against Gram positive bacteria
Some members (e.g. amoxicillin) are also effective against Gram negative bacteria but not Pseudomonas aeruginosa -Lactam Antibiotics: Penicillins and Cephalosporins
• The -lactam antibiotics, including the penicillins and the cephalosporins, are the most important clinical antibiotics.