Penicillins: Chemical Degradation and SAR

Screenshot 2025 08 19 110557 Penicillins: Chemical Degradation and SAR

Chemical degradation of penicillins involves various reactions that can occur under different conditions, leading to the loss of their pharmacological activity. 1. Acid Hydrolysis: Mechanism: Penicillins are susceptible to acid hydrolysis, where the β-lactam ring is opened, leading to inactive degradation products. Conditions: Acid hydrolysis occurs in acidic environments, such as the stomach or acidic … Read more

Penicillins

Penicillins

Penicillin, the most important antibiotic, was first extracted from the mould Penicillium notatum. Subsequently, a mutant of a related mould, P. chrysogenum, was found to give the highest yield of penicillin and is employed for the commercial production of this antibiotic. Penicillin belongs to a group of antibiotics called β-lactam antibiotics. The basic structure of … Read more

β-Lactam antibiotics

β-Lactam antibiotics

Beta-lactam antibiotics are a class of antibiotics characterized by the presence of a beta-lactam ring in their molecular structure. This ring is crucial for its antibacterial activity as it interferes with the synthesis of bacterial cell walls, ultimately leading to bacterial cell death. Beta-lactam antibiotics are generally well-tolerated but can cause allergic reactions in some … Read more

Antibiotics: Historical background and Classification

antibiotics

INTRODUCTION Antibiotics, also known as antimicrobial agents, are medications that destroy or slow down the growth of other species of microorganisms. They include a range of powerful drugs used to treat diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, etc. Or The term antibiotic originates in the word antibiosis (i.e. against life). Antibiotics are chemical substances obtained … Read more

Asymmetric Synthesis: Partial and Absolute

Screenshot 2025 08 14 102542 Asymmetric Synthesis: Partial and Absolute

Asymmetric synthesis refers to the production of chiral molecules with a specific enantiomeric configuration. The goal is to preferentially synthesize one enantiomer over the other, which is crucial in fields like pharmaceuticals, where the activity and safety of a drug can depend on its enantiomeric purity. Asymmetric synthesis can be categorized into partial and absolute … Read more

Racemic Modification and Resolution of Racemic Mixtures

Screenshot 2025 08 14 102123 Racemic Modification and Resolution of Racemic Mixtures

Racemic modification refers to the process of creating a racemic mixture, which is an equimolar mixture of two enantiomers (mirror-image isomers) of a chiral compound. A racemic mixture shows no optical activity because the optical rotations of the enantiomers cancel each other out. On the other hand, the resolution of a racemic mixture involves separating … Read more

Reactions of Chiral Molecules

Screenshot 2025 08 13 205108 Reactions of Chiral Molecules

Chiral molecules, due to their non-superimposable mirror images (enantiomers), exhibit unique behavior in chemical reactions. These reactions are critical in understanding stereochemistry and play an essential role in organic chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and biology. The outcome of reactions involving chiral molecules depends on factors like the nature of the reactants, the reagents, and the reaction conditions. … Read more