Penicillin G

The first penicillin was benzylpenicillin (penicillin G, R = C6H5 CH2 C0 NH-), which is made by growing suitable strains of Penicillium chrysogenum on a carbohydrate medium. 

The most commonly prescribed penicillins are phenoxymethylpenicillin, ampicillin, and penicillin G. 

PhCHa benzylpenicillin = penicillin G (usual fermentation product)... 

Under natural conditions various strains of Penicillium fungi produce either penicillin G or free 6-aminopenicillanic add ( = 6-APA). The techniques used to prepare analogues such as the ones given above have been (i) fermentation in the presence of an excess of appropriate adds which may be incorporated as side-chain (ii) chemical acylation of 6-APA with activated acid derivatives. 

Directions for preparing a potentiometric biosensor for penicillin are provided in this experiment. The enzyme penicillinase is immobilized in a polyacrylamide polymer formed on the surface of a glass pH electrode. The electrode shows a linear response to penicillin G over a concentration range of 10 M to 10 M. 

Certain factors and product precursors are occasionally added to various fermentation media to iacrease product formation rates, the amount of product formed, or the type of product formed. Examples iaclude the addition of cobalt salts ia the vitamin fermentation, and phenylacetic acid and phenoxyacetic acid for the penicillin G (hen ylpenicillin) and penicillin V (phenoxymethylpenicillin) fermentations, respectively. Biotin is often added to the citric acid fermentation to enhance productivity and the addition of P-ionone vastly iacreases beta-carotene fermentation yields. Also, iaducers play an important role ia some enzyme production fermentations, and specific metaboHc inhibitors often block certain enzymatic steps that result in product accumulation. 

In a similar way, several cephalosporins have been hydrolyzed to 7-aminodeacetoxycephalosporanic acid (72), and nocardicin C to 6-aminonocardicinic acid (73). Penicillin G amidase from Pscherichia coli has been used in an efficient resolution of a racemic cis intermediate required for a preparation of the synthon required for synthesis of the antibiotic Loracarbef (74). The racemic intermediate (21) underwent selective acylation to yield the cis derivative (22) in 44% yield the product displayed a 97% enantiomeric excess (ee). 

At present all of the cephalosporins ate manufactured from one of four P-lactams, cephalosporin C (2), penicillin V [87-08-17, penicillin G [113-98-4] and cephamycin C (8), which ate all produced in commercial quantities by fermentation (87). The manufacturing process consists of three steps fermentation, isolation, and chemical modification. 

Superior penicillin producing cultures ate capable of producing in excess of 30 mg/mL of penicillin G (154). Cephalosporin producing strains, however, generally grow poorly and cephalosporin C production is not as efficient as is that of penicillin. Factors such as strain maintenance, strain improvement, fermentation development, inoculum preparation, and fermentation equipment requkements ate discussed in the hterature (3,154). 

Chemical Abstracts most penicillins as 4-thia-l-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-7-ones (2). Using this system, penicillin G [161-33-6] (1, R =... 

Whereas the carboxylic acid is shown for many of these compounds, the majority of the commercial penicillins are sodium salts. Penicillin G is available as the calcium salt [973-53-5] C gH N20 S d/s Ca, and as the potassium salt [113-98-4] C2gH2yN20 S K. 

The only penicillins used in their natural form are benzylpenicillin (penicillin G) and phenoxymethylpenicillin (penicillin V). The remainder of penicillins in clinical use are derived from 6-APA and most penicillins having useful biological properties have resulted from acylation of 6-APA using standard procedures. 

Organism Penicillin G Ampicilli n ArncK + clav b Ox/N af BRL 44154 Garb /Tica d t Azlo /Mezlo /Pip e et Temocilli n BRL 36650... 

The pharmacology of penicillins differs markedly from compound to compound but has been well reviewed (57). The majority of derivatives, including penicillin G and the antipseudomonal penicillins, ate unstable in gastric acid and ate not available orally. The isoxazolyl penicillins ate relatively acid stable but not consistendy well absorbed by the oral route. Nafcillin and oxacillin ate poody absorbed orally cloxacillin, dicloxacillin, and ducloxacillin ate more teUable. Penicillin V, ampicillin, and patticulady amoxicillin ate relatively well absorbed orally. Esters of ampicillin such as bacampicillin, pivampicillin, and talampicillin improve the level of oral absorption of ampicillin to that achieved by amoxicillin. Absorption can be diminished by food after oral adruinistration, however, and peak blood levels, usually achieved after 1 to 2 h, ate somewhat delayed after ingestion of food. 

The cost of 6-APA, ampicillin, and amoxicillin is invariably linked to that of penicillin G. 6-APA remains one of the cheapest raw starting materials available for the preparation of semisynthetic penicillins and other related P-lactam antibiotics. 

The second most important group of immobilized enzymes is stiU the penicillin G and V acylases. These are used in the pharmaceutical industry to make the intermediate 6-aminopenici11anic acid [551-16-6] (6-APA), which in turn is used to manufacture semisynthetic penicillins, in particular ampicilHn [69-53-4] and amoxicillin [26787-78-0]. This is a remarkable example of how a complex chemical synthesis can be replaced with a simple enzymatic one ... 

The nomenclature of penicillins requires special comment. Compound (2) can be named as follows (a) penicillin G (b) benzylpenicillin (note that the term penicillin may refer to the compound class (1), to the structural fragment (3) or, especially in the medical literature, to compound (2) itself) (c) 6/3-phenylacetamidopenicillanic acid (d) 2,2-dimethyl-6/3-phenylacetamidopenam-3a -carboxylic acid (e) (2S,5i ,6i )-3,3-di-methyl-7-oxo-6-(2-phenylacetamido)-4-thia-l-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid and (f) [2S-(2a,5a,6/3)]-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-6-[(phenylacetyl)amino]-4-thia-l-azabicyclo-[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid. The numbered system shown in (2) is the one most commonly used in the penicillin literature and will be used in this chapter note that different number is used when (2) is named according to (e) and (f) above. 

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