Neomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that displays bactericidal activity against Gram-negative aerobic bacilli and some anaerobic bacilli where resistance has not yet arisen. It is generally not effective against Gram-positive bacilli and anaerobic Gram-negative bacilli. Neomycin comes in oral and topical formulations, including creams, ointments, and eyedrops. Neomycin belongs to the aminoglycoside class of antibiotics that contain two or more amino sugars connected by glycosidic bonds.
Aminoglycoside is a medicinal and bacteriologic category of traditional Gram-negative antibacterial medications that inhibit protein synthesis and contain as a portion of the molecule an amino-modified glycoside (sugar). The term can also refer more generally to any organic molecule that contains amino sugar substructures. Aminoglycoside antibiotics display bactericidal activity against Gram-negative aerobes and some anaerobic bacilli where resistance has not yet arisen but generally not against Gram-positive and anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria.
Polymyxins are antibiotics. Polymyxins B and E are used in the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections. They work mostly by breaking up the bacterial cell membrane. They are part of a broader class of molecules called nonribosomal peptides.
Colistin, also known as polymyxin E, is an antibiotic medication used as a last-resort treatment for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections including pneumonia. These may involve bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, or Acinetobacter. It comes in two forms: colistimethate sodium can be injected into a vein, injected into a muscle, or inhaled, and colistin sulfate is mainly applied to the skin or taken by mouth. Colistimethate sodium is a prodrug; it is produced by the reaction of colistin with formaldehyde and sodium bisulfite, which leads to the addition of a sulfomethyl group to the primary amines of colistin. Colistimethate sodium is less toxic than colistin when administered parenterally. In aqueous solutions, it undergoes hydrolysis to form a complex mixture of partially sulfomethylated derivatives, as well as colistin. Resistance to colistin began to appear as of 2015.
Bacitracin is a polypeptide antibiotic. It is a mixture of related cyclic peptides produced by Bacillus licheniformis bacteria, that was first isolated from the variety "Tracy I" in 1945. These peptides disrupt Gram-positive bacteria by interfering with cell wall and peptidoglycan synthesis.
Gramicidin, also called gramicidin D, is a mix of ionophoric antibiotics, gramicidin A, B and C, which make up about 80%, 5%, and 15% of the mix, respectively. Each has 2 isoforms, so the mix has 6 different types of gramicidin molecules. They can be extracted from Brevibacillus brevis soil bacteria. Gramicidins are linear peptides with 15 amino acids. This is in contrast to unrelated gramicidin S, which is a cyclic peptide.
Bacitracin/polymyxin B is a topical antibiotic cream or ointment. The active ingredients are polymyxin B, bacitracin and occasionally garamycin or gramicidin. Though Polysporin is marketed in the US, it holds a much smaller market share than in Canada and acts as a substitute to Johnson & Johnson's Neosporin for those allergic to the antibiotic neomycin. However, allergy to bacitracin/polymyxin B has also been reported. There is also an ophthalmological ointment, eye and ear drops.
Corneal abrasion is a scratch to the surface of the cornea of the eye. Symptoms include pain, redness, light sensitivity, and a feeling like a foreign body is in the eye. Most people recover completely within three days.
Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) is a species complex consisting of Burkholderia cepacia and at least 20 different biochemically similar species of Gram-negative bacteria. They are catalase-producing and lactose-nonfermenting. Members of BCC are opportunistic human pathogens that most often cause pneumonia in immunocompromised individuals with underlying lung disease. Patients with sickle-cell haemoglobinopathies are also at risk. The species complex also attacks young onion and tobacco plants, and displays a remarkable ability to digest oil.
Amikacin is an antibiotic medication used for a number of bacterial infections. This includes joint infections, intra-abdominal infections, meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, and urinary tract infections. It is also used for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. It is used by injection into a vein using an IV or into a muscle.
Neonatal conjunctivitis is a form of conjunctivitis which affects newborn babies following birth. It is typically due to neonatal bacterial infection, although it can also be non-infectious. Infectious neonatal conjunctivitis is typically contracted during vaginal delivery from exposure to bacteria from the birth canal, most commonly Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Chlamydia trachomatis.
Polymyxin B, sold under the brand name Poly-Rx among others, is an antibiotic used to treat meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, and urinary tract infections. While it is useful for many Gram negative infections, it is not useful for Gram positive infections. It can be given by injection into a vein, muscle, or cerebrospinal fluid or inhaled. The injectable form is generally only used if other options are not available. It is also available as the combinations bacitracin/polymyxin B and neomycin/polymyxin B/bacitracin for use on the skin.
Sulfacetamide is a sulfonamide antibiotic commonly used in the treatment of bacterial infections, particularly those affecting the eyes and skin. It functions by inhibiting the synthesis of folic acid in bacteria, which is essential for their growth and reproduction, thereby exerting a bacteriostatic effect. Available in various forms, including eye drops, topical solutions, and creams, sulfacetamide is often prescribed for conditions such as conjunctivitis, seborrheic dermatitis, and acne vulgaris. Its efficacy, coupled with a relatively low risk of side effects, makes it a widely utilized agent in both ophthalmic and dermatologic care.
Pramocaine is a topical anesthetic discovered at Abbott Laboratories in 1953 and used as an antipruritic. During research and development, pramocaine hydrochloride stood out among a series of alkoxy aryl alkamine ethers as an especially good topical local anesthetic agent. Pharmacologic study revealed it to be potent and of low acute and subacute toxicity, well tolerated by most mucous membranes and of a low sensitizing index in humans. Like other local anesthetics, pramocaine decreases the permeability of neuronal membranes to sodium ions, blocking both initiation and conduction of nerve impulses. Depolarization and repolarization of excitable neural membranes is thus inhibited, leading to numbness.
Retapamulin is a topical antibiotic developed by GlaxoSmithKline. It is the first drug in the new class of pleuromutilin antibiotics to be approved for human use. It is marketed as an ointment under the brand names Altabax and Altargo.
Tyrothricin is an antibiotic mixture which was isolated from Brevibacillus brevis by Rene Dubos in the late 1930s. It was later shown by Dubos and Rollin Hotchkiss to be a mixture of two different antibiotics: gramicidin and tyrocidine.
Polypeptide antibiotics are a chemically diverse class of anti-infective and antitumor antibiotics containing non-protein polypeptide chains. Examples of this class include actinomycin, bacitracin, colistin, and polymyxin B. Actinomycin-D has found use in cancer chemotherapy. Most other polypeptide antibiotics are too toxic for systemic administration, but can safely be administered topically to the skin as an antiseptic for shallow cuts and abrasions.
Multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria are a type of Gram-negative bacteria with resistance to multiple antibiotics. They can cause bacteria infections that pose a serious and rapidly emerging threat for hospitalized patients and especially patients in intensive care units. Infections caused by MDR strains are correlated with increased morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospitalization. Thus, not only do these bacteria pose a threat to global public health, but also create a significant burden to healthcare systems.
SPR741 is an experimental antibiotic related to Polymyxin B. It shows activity against a number of bacterial pathogens, especially Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae, acting as an antibiotic adjuvant which disrupts the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and allows other antibiotics to more effectively penetrate into the cell.
