THE absence of direct toxicity is one of the most remarkable properties of the penicillin molecule; that is to say, the penicillin molecule as we know it and as we should use it. If you try hard enough, you can make it toxic by altering it or abusing it, as I shall try to show later. With this reservation, one can say that penicillin G and the main therapeutic derivatives of 6-aminopenicillanic...

WHILE it is of obvious importance to determine the antibacterial activity of a penicillin in the blood it is perhaps of greater importance to know what concentrations are present in the extravascular fluids. In view of the current interest in protein binding and its influence on activity it is also of importance to determine in what way binding influences distribution throughout the body. Usual...

-lactamases are a major cause of resistance to the -lactam antibiotics. Many classes of -lactamases have been described depending on substrate specificity and susceptibility to inhibitors [1]. Amp C -lactamases are able to hydrolyse all penicillins and cephalosporins and are not inhibited by clavulanic acid. Bacteria that produce these enzymes are resistant to all penicillins including lac...

Like the dozen books of this series that preceded it, this one is a record of one day's discussion on a very timely subject by an international group of eminent scientists who are among the leading and most active contributors to the subject. The Study Group met in February 1962 and the discussion dealt with penicillins and penicillinase(s), their actions, interactions and roles in the resistan...

Thin-layer chromatographic separation of penicillins has been performed on stannic arsenate–cellulose layers. RF values of penicillins were determined after use of different mobile phases. Amoxycillin and ampicillin were selectively separated from binary and ternary synthetic mixtures. Amoxycillin and ampicillin in commercially available drugs were also separated and were quantitatively determi...

The in vitro susceptibilities of 181 isolates of precisely identified Proteeae species to five semisynthetic penicillins were determined with low and high inocula. Significant differences in susceptibility patterns among various Proteeae species to the penicillins examined were demonstrated. Providencia stuartii was clearly distinguished from Providencia alcalifaciens by its greater resistance ...

BACKGROUND There have been few studies regarding the cross-reactivity and tolerability of penicillins, aztreonam, and carbapenems in large samples of subjects with cephalosporin allergy. OBJECTIVE We sought to evaluate the possibility of using penicillins, monobactams, and carbapenems in subjects with cephalosporin allergy who especially require them. METHODS We conducted a prospective stud...

The discovery of penicillinase-resistant penicillins is an important landmark in the history of antibacterial chemotherapy. Methicillin came into clinical use in 1960, and its value in the treatment of penicillin-resistant staphylococcal infection is now well established. The same is true of the isoxazolyl penicillins, oxacillin and cloxacillin, which came on to the scenes about a year later. N...