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Ampicillin
 
 
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Ampicillin is a beta-lactam
Beta-lactam antibiotic

?-lactam antibiotics are a broad class of antibiotics that include penicillin derivatives, cephalosporins, monobactams, carbapenems, and Beta-lactamase inhibitors, that is, any antibiotic agent that contains a beta-lactam nucleus in its molecular structure....
 antibiotic
Antibiotic

In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics belong to the group of antimicrobial compounds used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungus and protozoa....
 that has been used extensively to treat bacterial infection
Infection

An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host resources to multiply ....
s since 1961. It is considered part of the aminopenicillin
Aminopenicillin

File:Ampicillin structure.svgFile:amoxicillin.svgFile:Bacampicillin.pngThe aminopenicillins are a group of antibiotics. They belong to the penicillin family and comprise the members ampicillin, amoxicillin, and bacampicillin....
 family and is roughly equivalent to amoxicillin
Amoxicillin

Amoxicillin or amoxycillin is a moderate-spectrum, bacteriolytic, beta-lactam antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections caused by susceptible microorganisms....
 in terms of spectrum and level of activity. It can sometimes result in non-allergic reactions that range in severity from a rash
Rash

A rash is a change of the skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin....
 (e.g. patients with mononucleosis
Mononucleosis

Mononucleosis is a condition where there is an unusual proliferation of monocytes. Its meaning is similar to the condition of monocytosis.Sometimes, the use of the term implies Epstein-Barr virus , but it is also possible for cytomegalovirus to cause mononucleosis....
) to potentially lethal anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is an acute Circulatory system and very severe Type I hypersensitivity allergy reaction in humans and other mammals. The term comes from the Greek words a?a ana and f??a??? phylaxis ....
.

nging to the penicillin
Penicillin

Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They are Beta-lactam antibiotics used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible, usually Gram-positive, organisms....
 group of beta-lactam antibiotics, ampicillin is able to penetrate Gram-positive
Gram-positive

Gram-positive Bacteria are those that are stained dark blue or violet by Gram staining. This is in contrast to Gram-negative bacteria, which cannot retain the crystal violet stain, instead taking up the counterstain and appearing red or pink....
 and some Gram-negative
Gram-negative

Gram-negative bacteria are those bacteria that do not retain crystal violet dye in the Gram staining protocol. In a Gram stain test, a counterstain is added after the crystal violet, coloring all Gram-negative bacteria with a red or pink color....
 bacteria.






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Encyclopedia


Ampicillin is a beta-lactam
Beta-lactam antibiotic

?-lactam antibiotics are a broad class of antibiotics that include penicillin derivatives, cephalosporins, monobactams, carbapenems, and Beta-lactamase inhibitors, that is, any antibiotic agent that contains a beta-lactam nucleus in its molecular structure....
 antibiotic
Antibiotic

In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics belong to the group of antimicrobial compounds used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungus and protozoa....
 that has been used extensively to treat bacterial infection
Infection

An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host resources to multiply ....
s since 1961. It is considered part of the aminopenicillin
Aminopenicillin

File:Ampicillin structure.svgFile:amoxicillin.svgFile:Bacampicillin.pngThe aminopenicillins are a group of antibiotics. They belong to the penicillin family and comprise the members ampicillin, amoxicillin, and bacampicillin....
 family and is roughly equivalent to amoxicillin
Amoxicillin

Amoxicillin or amoxycillin is a moderate-spectrum, bacteriolytic, beta-lactam antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections caused by susceptible microorganisms....
 in terms of spectrum and level of activity. It can sometimes result in non-allergic reactions that range in severity from a rash
Rash

A rash is a change of the skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin....
 (e.g. patients with mononucleosis
Mononucleosis

Mononucleosis is a condition where there is an unusual proliferation of monocytes. Its meaning is similar to the condition of monocytosis.Sometimes, the use of the term implies Epstein-Barr virus , but it is also possible for cytomegalovirus to cause mononucleosis....
) to potentially lethal anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is an acute Circulatory system and very severe Type I hypersensitivity allergy reaction in humans and other mammals. The term comes from the Greek words a?a ana and f??a??? phylaxis ....
.

Mechanism of action

Belonging to the penicillin
Penicillin

Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They are Beta-lactam antibiotics used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible, usually Gram-positive, organisms....
 group of beta-lactam antibiotics, ampicillin is able to penetrate Gram-positive
Gram-positive

Gram-positive Bacteria are those that are stained dark blue or violet by Gram staining. This is in contrast to Gram-negative bacteria, which cannot retain the crystal violet stain, instead taking up the counterstain and appearing red or pink....
 and some Gram-negative
Gram-negative

Gram-negative bacteria are those bacteria that do not retain crystal violet dye in the Gram staining protocol. In a Gram stain test, a counterstain is added after the crystal violet, coloring all Gram-negative bacteria with a red or pink color....
 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. Transpeptidase is needed by bacteria to make their cell walls. It inhibits the third and final stage of bacterial cell wall
Cell wall

A cell wall is a tough, flexible and sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cell . It is located outside the cell membrane and provides these cells with structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mechanism....
 synthesis, which ultimately leads to cell lysis
Lysis

Lysis refers to the death of a cell by breaking of the cellular membrane, often by viral or osmotic mechanisms that compromise its integrity. A solution containing the contents of lysed cells is called a "lysate"....
.

Indications

Ampicillin is closely related to amoxicillin
Amoxicillin

Amoxicillin or amoxycillin is a moderate-spectrum, bacteriolytic, beta-lactam antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections caused by susceptible microorganisms....
, another type of penicillin, and both are used to treat urinary tract infections, otitis media
Otitis media

Otitis media is inflammation of the middle ear, or middle ear infection .Otitis media occurs in the area between the ear drum and the inner ear, including a duct known as the Eustachian tube....
, uncomplicated community-acquired pneumonia
Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an Inflammation illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolus inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
, Haemophilus influenzae
Haemophilus influenzae

Haemophilus influenzae, formerly called Pfeiffer's bacillus or Bacillus influenzae, is a non-motile Gram-negative coccobacillus first described in 1892 by Richard Friedrich Johannes Pfeiffer during an influenza pandemic....
, salmonellosis
Salmonellosis

Salmonellosis is an infection with Salmonella bacteria. Most persons infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain; 12 to 72 hours after infection....
 and Listeria
Listeriosis

Listeriosis is a list of infectious diseases caused by a gram-positive, Motility bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes. Listeriosis is relatively rare and occurs primarily in newborn infants, elderly patients, and patients who are immunocompromised....
 meningitis
Meningitis

Meningitis is a medical condition caused by inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges....
. It is used with flucloxacillin
Flucloxacillin

Flucloxacillin or floxacillin is a narrow-spectrum antibiotic beta-lactam antibiotic of the penicillin class. It is used to treat infections caused by susceptible Gram-positive bacteria....
 in the combination antibiotic co-fluampicil
Co-fluampicil

Co-fluampicil is the British Approved Name, for the combination of ampicillin and flucloxacillin β-lactam antibiotics ....
 for empiric
Empirical

The word empirical denotes information gained by means of observation, experience, or experiment, as opposed to theory. A central concept in science and the scientific method is that all evidence must be empirical, or empirically based, that is, dependent on evidence or Logical consequence that are observable by the senses....
 treatment of cellulitis
Cellulitis

Cellulitis is a diffuse infection of connective tissue with severe inflammation of dermal and subcutaneous layers of the skin. Cellulitis can be caused by normal skin Flora or by exogenous bacteria, and often occurs where the skin has previously been broken: cracks in the skin, cuts, blisters, burn , insect bites, surgical wounds, or sites o...
; providing cover against Group A streptococcal infection
Group A streptococcal infection

The group A streptococcus bacterium is a form of Streptococcus bacteria responsible for most cases of streptococcal illness. Other types may also cause infection....
 whilst the flucloxacillin acts against the Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of staph infections. It is a spherical Bacteria, frequently found in the nose and skin of a person....
 bacterium. Of concern is the number of bacteria that become resistant
Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a microorganism to withstand the effects of antibiotics. It is a specific type of drug resistance. Antibiotic resistance evolves via natural selection acting upon random mutation, but it can also be engineered by applying an evolutionary stress on a population....
 to Ampicillin necessitating combination therapy or use of other antibiotics.

All Pseudomonas
Pseudomonas

Pseudomonas is a genus of gamma proteobacteria, belonging to the larger family of pseudomonads.Recently, 16S ribosomal RNA sequence analysis has redefined the taxonomy of many bacterial species....
 and most strains of Klebsiella
Klebsiella

Klebsiella is a genus of motility, Gram-negative, Oxidase test rod shaped bacteria with a prominent polysaccharide-based Capsule . Frequent human pathogens, Klebsiella organisms can lead to a wide range of disease states, notably pneumonia, urinary tract infections, septicemia, Ankylosing spondylitis, and soft tissue infections....
 and Aerobacter are considered resistant.

Use in research

Ampicillin is often used as a selective agent in molecular biology
Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecule level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry....
 to confirm the uptake of gene
Gene

A gene is the basic unit of heredity in a living organism. All living things depend on genes. Genes hold the information to build and maintain their cell and pass genetic trait to offspring....
s (e.g., of plasmid
Plasmid

File:plasmid .svgA plasmid is an extra-chromosomal DNA molecule separate from the chromosome which is capable of replicating independently of the chromosomal DNA....
s) by bacteria (e.g., E. coli). A gene that is to be inserted into a bacterium is coupled to a gene coding for an ampicillin resistance (in E. coli, usually the bla (TEM-1) gene, coding for ß-lactamase
Beta-lactamase

Beta-lactamases are enzymes produced by some bacteria and are responsible for their antibiotic resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics like penicillins, cephalosporins , cephamycins, and carbapenems ....
). The treated bacteria are then grown in a medium containing ampicillin (50-100mg/L). Only the bacteria that successfully take up the desired genes become ampicillin resistant, and therefore contain the other desired gene as well. It can be used with Cloaxicillin as well. As a powder ampicillin is white with slight yellow cast and is soluble in water (50mg/ml).

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