Cephalosporins Essay

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Antibiotics basically refer to chemical substances that can inhibit and destroy the growth of microorganisms (Gottileb,1976; Katz and Demain,1977). Antibiotic term was first used in 1942 by Selman Waksman to describe any substance produced by a microorganism which interfere with the growth of other microorganism (SA Waksman, 1947). Each antibiotic is produced by a relatively limited number of species and is inherited from specific set of genes. These are the products of secondary metabolism which can be produced commercially by microbial fermentation after active growth has declined. These compounds are generally synthesized in stationary phase especially idiophase (unbalanced growth phase) so these are sometimes called as idiolites(walker, 1974). Their formation is highly influenced not only by the growth conditions but also by the composition of the culture medium.

Cephalosporins are broad spectrum antibiotics similar to penicillins. These are together classified as beta-lactam antibiotics because they have a beta-lactam ring which interferes with bacterial cell wall (peptidoglyc...

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