Amphenicols are a class of
antibiotics
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention o ...
with a
phenylpropanoid
The phenylpropanoids are a diverse family of organic compounds that are synthesized by plants from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. Their name is derived from the six-carbon, aromatic phenyl group and the three-carbon propene tail of ...
structure. They function by blocking the enzyme
peptidyl transferase
The peptidyl transferase is an aminoacyltransferase () as well as the primary enzymatic function of the ribosome, which forms peptide bonds between adjacent amino acids using tRNAs during the translation process of protein biosynthesis. The subst ...
on the
50S ribosome
Ribosomes ( ) are macromolecular machines, found within all cells, that perform biological protein synthesis (mRNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by the codons of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to ...
subunit of
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
.
Examples of amphenicols include
chloramphenicol
Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections. This includes use as an eye ointment to treat conjunctivitis. By mouth or by injection into a vein, it is used to treat meningitis, plague, cholera, a ...
,
thiamphenicol
Thiamphenicol (also known as thiophenicol and dextrosulphenidol) is an antibiotic. It is the methyl- sulfonyl analogue of chloramphenicol and has a similar spectrum of activity, but is 2.5 to 5 times as potent. Like chloramphenicol, it is insolub ...
,
azidamfenicol, and
florfenicol
Florfenicol (marketed by Schering-Plough Animal Health under the trade name Nuflor) is a fluorinated synthetic analog of thiamphenicol, mainly used in veterinary medicine.
As a generic, it is now available worldwide.
Indications
In the United ...
. The first-in-class compound was chloramphenicol, introduced in 1949. Chloramphenicol was initially discovered as a natural product and isolated from the soil bacteria ''
Steptomyces venezuelae''; however, all amphenicols are now made by chemical synthesis.
References
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