Pediatrics in Review
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(Pediatrics in Review. 2006;27:471-473.)
© 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics

In Brief

The Penicillins

The first 300 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The Penicillins and Related Drugs. Kucers A. In: Kucers A, Crowe S, Grayson ML, Hoy J, eds. The Use of Antibiotics: A Clinical Review of Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Antiviral Drugs. 5th ed. Oxford, United Kingdom: Butterworth-Heinemann Publishing; 1997:1–250 Penicillins. Chambers HF. In: Mandell GL, Bennett GL, Dolin R, eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 6th ed. New York, NY: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2005:281–293 Antimicrobial Agents: Penicillins, Cephalosporins, and Other Beta-lactam Antibiotics. Petri WA, Jr. In: Hardman JG, Limbird LE, Gilman AG, eds. Goodman & Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical Publishing Division; 2001:1189–1218

In 1929, Fleming isolated penicillin from the mold Penicillium notatum. It was introduced into clinical medicine in 1941 by Florey and associates. The penicillins can be divided into five classes on the basis of antibacterial activity, although there is considerable overlap among the classes:

The latter two classes also are called antipseudomonal penicillins.

The basic structure of most commercially available penicillins is a nucleus consisting of a beta-lactam ring and a side chain. The beta-lactam ring confers antibacterial activity, and the side chain determines the agent’s antibacterial spectrum and pharmacologic properties. The antibacterial activity of penicillins, like other beta-lactams, depends on their inhibition of bacterial penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), which are necessary for cell wall synthesis. Certain bacteria, including Staphylococcus sp, Neisseria gonorrhea, Moraxella catarrhalis, Bacteroides sp, and Haemophilus sp, produce penicillinases, enzymes that hydrolyze beta-lactam rings. These organisms are susceptible only to the penicillins that are beta-lactamase-resistant or to beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations.

The natural penicillins are most active . . . [Full Text of this Article]


Zainab A. Malik, MD
Nathan Litman, MD
 Children’s Hospital at Montefiore
Bronx, NY





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