Protecting penicillin from penicillinase.
A bacterial strain exposed to penicillin may produce an extracellular enzyme called penicillinase which leaves the bacterial cell and degrades the penicillin around it by hydrolysing the cyclic amide bond in the beta-lactam ring of penicillin and thus inactivates the antibiotic. Experiments were conducted to find a competitive and a non-competitive inhibitor which could irreversibly inhibit the activity of penicillinase, allowing penicillin to destroy the bacterial strain. After testing many inhibitors some had synergistic, antagonistic or even no affect on the bacterial strain. The non-competitive inhibitor which had the best result was iodine, and the best competitive inhibitor in its group was sulphoxazole.
D007455:Iodine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009154:Mutation; D010080:Oxazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D010406:Penicillins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D065093:beta-Lactamase Inhibitors
D010080:Oxazoles; D010406:Penicillins; D065093:beta-Lactamase Inhibitors; D007455:Iodine