A drug used to treat bacterial infections. It belongs to the family of drugs called antibiotics.

Group of broad spectrum antibiotics which share the nucleus 7-aminocephalosporanic acid; antibacterial activity results from inhibition of the cross linking of peptidoglycan units in the cell wall.

A group of broad-spectrum antibiotics first isolated from the Mediterranean fungus ACREMONIUM. They contain the beta-lactam moiety thia-azabicyclo-octenecarboxylic acid also called 7-aminocephalosporanic acid.

(cephalosporin antibiotic) A synthetic or semi-synthetic beta-lactam antibiotic derived from Acremonium (Cephalosporium) fungi with bactericidal activity. Cephalosporin antibiotics bind to and inactivate penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) located on the inner membrane of the bacterial cell wall. Inactivation of PBPs interferes with the cross-linkage of peptidoglycan chains necessary for bacterial cell wall strength and rigidity. This interrupts bacterial cell wall synthesis and results in the weakening of the bacterial cell wall, eventually causing cell lysis.

Cephalosporins are bactericidal beta-lactam antibiotics. They inhibit enzymes in the cell wall of susceptible bacteria, disrupting cell synthesis. There are 5 generations of cephalosporins.

Cephalosporin, any of a group of ?-lactam antibiotics that inhibit the synthesis of a structural component of the bacterial cell wall. The cephalosporins were first isolated from cultures of the fungus Cephalosporium acremonium. Modifications of the ?-lactam ring have resulted in more than 20...