Hetacillin is a

beta-lactam antibiotic β-lactam antibiotics (beta-lactam antibiotics) are antibiotics that contain a beta-lactam ring in their chemical structure. This includes penicillin derivatives (penams), cephalosporins and cephamycins (cephems), monobactams, carbapenems and ...

that is part of the aminopenicillin family. It is a

prodrug A prodrug is a medication or compound that, after intake, is metabolized (i.e., converted within the body) into a pharmacologically active drug. Instead of administering a drug directly, a corresponding prodrug can be used to improve how the drug ...

and has no antibacterial activity itself, but quickly splits off

acetone Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour. Acetone is miscib ...

in the human body to form

ampicillin Ampicillin is an antibiotic used to prevent and treat a number of bacterial infections, such as respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, meningitis, salmonellosis, and endocarditis. It may also be used to prevent group B strepto ...

, which is active against a variety of bacteria. __TOC__

Administration

Hetacillin can be administered orally. The

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

salt, hetacillin potassium, is administered by

injection Injection or injected may refer to: Science and technology * Injective function, a mathematical function mapping distinct arguments to distinct values * Injection (medicine), insertion of liquid into the body with a syringe * Injection, in broadca ...

, either intravenously or intramuscularly. It is sold under the trade name Hetacin for intramammary injection in veterinary use. Hetacillin was withdrawn from the market for human use when the discovery was made that it had no advantages over ampicillin.

Chemistry

Hetacillin is prepared from ampicillin and acetone. In aqueous solutions it is unstable, with a half life of 15 to 30 minutes at and pH 7, quickly releasing acetone again. As opposed to ampicillin, hetacillin is only marginally broken down by the bacterial enzyme

beta-lactamase Beta-lactamases, (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteria that provide multi-resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, cephamycins, monobactams and carbapenems (ertapenem), although carbapenems ...

, at least ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...

''.

References

Penicillins Prodrugs Withdrawn drugs Imidazolidinones {{Antibiotic-stub