Cephamycins

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cephalosporin \Ceph"a*lo*spor`in\
     (s[e^]f"[.a]*l[-o]*sp[=o]r`[i^]n), n. [from Cephalosporium, a
     fungus producing the first of the series discovered.] (Chem.)
     any of a class of chemical substances, some of which have
     therapeutically useful antibacterial activity, whose
     structure contains a beta-lactam ring fused to a six-membered


     ring containing a sulfur and a nitrogen atom. The first of
     the series, {cephalosporin C}, was discovered by G. Brotzu in
     1955 in the culture broth of a {Cephalosporium} species found
     off the coast of Sardinia. Other cephalosporins have been
     found to be produced by species of soil bacteria
     (actinomycetes). Many semisynthetic analogs have been tested
     for antibacterial effect, and several of them have found use
     as important clinically useful antibacterial agents, some of
     which may be taken orally for treatment of bacterial
     infections. The cephalosporins are the second class of
     beta-lactam antibiotic to be discovered, the first being the
     {penicillins} and more recent classes being the
     {thienamycins} and {sulfazecins}. The {cephamycins} are a
     variant of cephalosporins with a methoxyl group on the
     beta-lactam ring, rendering them more resistant to
     penicillinases. Among the cephalosporins which have been
     found clinically useful are {cephalexin}, {cephaloridine},
     and {cephalothin}.
     [PJC]