Antibiotic
methicillin Audio
meth·i·cil·lin [ meth-uh-sil-in ]
Effect:
Decreased Cell Wall Synthesis & Repair
May Treat:
Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Staphylococcal Infections
Definitions related to methicillin:
  • A semisynthetic, narrow spectrum beta-lactamase-resistant penicillin antibiotic with bactericidal and beta-lactamase resistant activity. Methicillin binds to specific penicillin-binding proteins (BPBs) on the bacterial cell wall, thereby preventing the cross-linkage of peptidoglycans, which are critical components of the bacterial cell wall. This leads to an interruption of the bacterial cell wall and causes bacterial lysis.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • One of the PENICILLINS which is resistant to PENICILLINASE but susceptible to a penicillin-binding protein. It is inactivated by gastric acid so administered by injection.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • Semisynthetic penicillin used as an antibacterial in resistant staphylococcal infections.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Methicillin, antibiotic formerly used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by organisms of the genus Staphylococcus. Methicillin is a semisynthetic derivative of penicillin. It was first produced in the late 1950s and was developed as a type of antibiotic called a penicillinase-resistant...
    Encyclopedia Britannica
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025
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