Bacitracin

One strain isolated from tissue debrided from a compound fracture of the tibia was particularly active.

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Encyclopedia

Bacitracin is a mixture of related cyclic polypeptide

Peptide

Peptides are short polymers formed from the linking, in a defined order, of a-amino acids. The link between one amino acid residue and the next is known as an amide chemical bond or a peptide bond....
s produced by organism

Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
s of the licheniformis group of Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis, known as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium commonly found in soil....
 var Tracy, isolation of which was first reported in 1945.

As a toxic and difficult-to-use 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....
, bacitracin doesn't work well orally. However, it is very effective topically. Its action is on gram positive cell walls.

History

The drug's unique name derives from the fact that it was isolated from a girl named Tracy:

One strain isolated from tissue debrided from a compound fracture of the tibia was particularly active. We named this growth-antagonistic strain for the patient, "Tracy I." When cell-free filtrates of broth cultures of this bacillus proved to possess strong antibiotic activity and to be non-toxic, further study seemed warranted. We have called this active principle "Bacitracin."

It was approved by FDA in 1948.

Synthesis

Bacitracin is synthesised via the so-called nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs), which means that ribosome

Ribosome

Ribosomes are complexes of RNA and protein that are found in all cell s. Ribosomes from bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes, the three domains of life on Earth, have significantly different structure and RNA....
s are not involved in its synthesis

Nonribosomal peptide

Nonribosomal peptides are a class of peptide secondary metabolites, usually produced by microorganisms like bacterium and fungi. Nonribosomal peptides are also found in higher organisms, such as nudibranchs, but are thought to be made by bacteria commensurism these organisms....
.

Mechanism of action

Bacitracin interferes with the dephosphorylation of the C

Carbon

Carbon is a chemical element with chemical symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalence?making four electrons available to form covalent bond chemical bonds....
₅₅-isoprenyl pyrophosphate, a molecule which carries the building blocks of the peptidoglycan

Peptidoglycan

Peptidoglycan, also known as murein, is a polymer consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like layer outside the plasma membrane of bacteria, forming the cell wall....
 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....
 outside of the inner membrane .

Clinical use

Bacitracin is used in human medicine as a polypeptide antibiotic and is "approved by the FDA for use in chickens and turkeys."

As bacitracin zinc salt, and in combination with other topical antibiotics (usually polymyxin B

Polymyxin B

Polymyxin B is an antibiotic primarily used for resistant gram negative infections. Polymyxins bind to the cell membrane and alter its structure making it more permeable....
 and neomycin

Neomycin

Neomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that is found in many topical medications such as creams, ointments and eyedrops....
), it is used in ointment

Ointment

An ointment is a viscous semisolid preparation used topically on a variety of body surfaces. These include the skin and the mucus membranes of the eye , vagina, anus, and nose....
 form for topical treatment of a variety of localized skin and eye infections, as well as for the prevention of wound 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. In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 a popular brand name Neosporin

Neosporin

Neosporin is the product name of an antibiotic ointment produced by Pfizer used in the prevention of infection and speeding the healing of wounds....
 contains Bacitracin as one of its 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....
 agents along with Neomycin

Neomycin

Neomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that is found in many topical medications such as creams, ointments and eyedrops....
 and Polymyxin B

Polymyxin B

Polymyxin B is an antibiotic primarily used for resistant gram negative infections. Polymyxins bind to the cell membrane and alter its structure making it more permeable....
. Bacitracin can also be bought in pure form for those with allergies.

It is also commonly used as an aftercare antibiotic on tattoos. It is preferred over Neosporin because of its fewer ingredients, which lowers chances of an allergic reaction.

In infants, it is sometimes administered intramuscularly for the treatment of 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 ....
s,but in most cases, it has been replaced by other antibiotics. This formulation is sold under the brand name Baciim.

Clinical Note: This is a good alternative to Silver sulfadiazine

Silver sulfadiazine

Silver sulfadiazine is a sulfa derivative topical antibacterial used primarily as a topical burn cream on second- and third-degree burn . The cream is kept applied to the burned skin at all times, for the duration of the healing period or until a skin grafting is applied....
 (Silvadene) for burn patients with Sulfa-Allergy.

Bacitracin can be used to distinguish Streptococcus pyogenes

Streptococcus pyogenes

'Streptococcus pyogenes' is a coccus gram-positive bacteria that grows in long chains and is the cause of Group A streptococcal infections. S....
 from Streptococcus agalactiae

Streptococcus agalactiae

Streptococcus agalactiae is a beta-hemolytic gram-positive streptococcus....
.