The Chiral Molecule of: Penicillin

             Penicillin, antibiotics, and other types of drugs are used to treat many many different types of infections. Antibiotics have been used for ages in treating skin infections. Penicillins are a collection of antibiotics that eliminate infection causing bacteria. They help prevent bacterial infections. It was originally discovered by Ernest Duchesne in the 19^th century. The first penicillin is penicillin G, which is able to be broken down by the stomach acid that is why they developed a newer type of penicillin had to be developed. So then penicillinV was developed and would not be affected by the stomach acid. Some penicillins include amoxicillin Amoxil, Polymox, Trimox, and Wymox. Penicillin products are effective against gram positive bacteria which are those that are stained dark blue violet by Gram staining. Some of these include staphylococci, streptococci, syphilis, and gram negative bacteria such as meningococci, Treponema, Borrelia and Leptospira. Diarrhea, nausea , vomiting , and upset stomach are some of the side effects. The only way to get penicillin is through prescription.

            The arising problem nowadays is that bacteria is now becoming resistant to penicillin. The more antibacterial and penicillin the more bacteria starts to evolve and become resistant to the drug. That is why it is recommended to do a culture test before use.

Moreover, the stereochemistry on penicillin shows how diverse it is: It has three chiral centers and the stereochemistry is that the carbon #2 is an S, carbon #5 is R, and carbon #6 is S. Here is the molecule.

 

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Gram-positive_bacteria.html

http://www.healthofchildren.com/P/Penicillins.html#ixzz2jKq9AAVS