This is an antibiotic produced by a Cephalosporium, but since the antibiotic was discovered the name Cephalosporium has been removed and the new name is Acremonium.
- c. C an antibiotic whose activity is due to the 7-aminocephalosporanic acid portion of the cephalosporanic acid molecule; it is effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but is less potent than c. N. Addition of side chains produced semisynthetic broad spectrum antibiotics with greater antibacterial activity than that of c. C; the antibiotic activity is due to interference with bacterial cell-wall synthesis.
- c. N an antibiotic active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but inactivated by penicillinase; on hydrolysis it yields penicillamine. SYN: penicillin N, synnematin B.
- c. P a steroid antibiotic produced by Cephalosporium, chemically related to fusidic and helvolic acids, that is active only against Gram-positive bacteria.
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ceph·a·lo·spo·rin .sef-ə-lə-'spōr-ən, -'spȯr- n any of several beta-lactam antibiotics produced by an imperfect fungus of the genus Acremonium or made semisynthetically
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n.
any one of a group of semisynthetic beta-lactam antibiotic, derived from the mould Cephalosporium, which are effective against a wide range of microorganisms and are therefore used in a variety of infections (see cefaclor, cefadroxil, cefalexin, cefazolin). Cross-sensitivity with penicillin may occur and the principal side-effects are allergic reactions and irritation of the digestive tract.
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ceph·a·lo·spo·rin (sef″ə-lo-sporґin) any of a group of broad-spectrum, relatively penicillinase-resistant antibiotics originally derived from a species of the fungus Emericellopsis minimum, a teleomorph of Acremonium (formerly called Cephalosporium). They are related to the penicillins in both structure and mode of action; their antibacterial activity results from inhibition of the cross-linking of peptidoglycan units in the cell wall. The cephalosporins available for medicinal use are semisynthetic derivatives of the natural antibiotic cephalosporin C. (The cephamycins cefmetazole, cefotetan, and cefoxitin and the β-lactam antibiotic moxalactam are included with the cephalosporins because of their close relationship to them.)Medical dictionary. 2011.