Peptides, antibiotic classification

For this review another classification is used. As the majority of peptide antibiotics are of unknown structure and cannot therefore be classified chemically, they are grouped according to the organism which produces them. At the beginning of every section, the peptide antibiotics are listed in a table which gives the known characteristics and the literature. Only the clinically useful members are described in detail. Furthermore, only those peptide antibiotics which consist mainly of amino acids in peptide linkages are fully considered. The important actinomycins , penicillins and cephalosporins, which have been reviewed several times in recent years, are not included here. Amino acids and amino acid residue sequences are denoted in accordance with the suggestions of the committee on nomenclature which reported at the Fifth European Peptide Symposium . When necessaiy the direction of the —CO NH— bond is indicated by an arrow (— )., ... 

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