Mechanism of Action
Belonging to the penicillin group of beta-lactam antibiotics, ampicillin is able to penetrate Gram-positive and some Gram-negative bacteria. It differs from penicillin only by the presence of an amino group. That amino group helps the drug penetrate the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria.
Ampicillin acts as a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme transpeptidase, which is needed by bacteria to make their cell walls. It inhibits the third and final stage of bacterial cell wall synthesis in binary fission, which ultimately leads to cell lysis. Ampicillin has received FDA approval for its mechanism of action.
Read more about this topic: Ampicillin
Famous quotes containing the words mechanism of, mechanism and/or action:
“A mechanism of some kind stands between us and almost every act of our lives.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 3, ch. 2 (1962)
“A mechanism of some kind stands between us and almost every act of our lives.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 3, ch. 2 (1962)
“Let those who go home tell the same story of you:
Of action with a common purpose, action
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