April 2005
Vancomycin is a powerful, chlorine-containing antibiotic drug that often works when all other antibiotics fail. It has been called the "antibiotic of last-resort," having saved the lives of patients suffering from serious, stubborn bacterial illnesses. Although few of us will ever have a need for it, it is a very good thing that vancomycin is available.
Scientists know that nature is a rich chemical laboratory from which many useful medicines may be derived. Vancomycin, like many other healing drugs, is a product of nature. It is produced by the soil bacteria, Streptomyces orientalis, originally found in India and Indonesia over forty years ago. The chemical formula for vancomycin, C66H75Cl2N9O24, shows that it is a large molecule.
Battling an Unseen Enemy
If you have ever suffered from an ear infection, chances are your doctor prescribed a drug, known as an antibiotic, for you. Antibiotics control bacterial infection, which may be thought of as the runaway growth of harmful bacteria in some part of the body. Bacterial infections may begin when the body's natural defenses are low, giving germs a "running start." For example, you might be battling a cold virus, another form of microscopic germ, when a bacterial infection begins, leaving you short of all the defenses you need to fight the new microscopic "invaders." The result: you might come down with a bacterial ear infection. Ugh!
Doctors choose from a variety of available antibiotics, each with different properties, to treat bacterial infections. Patients usually "bounce back" to normal after taking antibiotics for the prescribed period. (Remember: Antibiotics only work against bacteria, not viruses.) Because of the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, however, doctors sometimes are forced to try a few different antibiotics before they can cure a bacterial infection. This happens because bacteria are very adaptable, and they find ways to survive the "attack" of antibiotics. For that reason, medicinal chemists, scientists who synthesize new medicines, struggle to stay one step ahead of these tough germs. And vancomycin plays an important role as one of the toughest antibiotics around-it can usually do the trick. Because it has been reserved for tough battles against bacteria, there is not a high degree of resistance to its effects.
Bacteria: Simply Everywhere
Bacteria-tiny, one-celled, simple life forms visible only through a microscope-are well-programmed by nature for survival. They may be the world's most successful life form. Different kinds of bacteria grow and survive in just about every environment imaginable, from bubbling geysers to glacial ice. We could not digest food without the bacteria that live in our bodies. Most bacteria are either harmless or helpful; relatively few cause sickness, but those that do command our attention from time to time.
Antibiotics: The Plan of Attack
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| The structure of bacterial cell walls resembles chain-link fences. |
In order to invent ways to control bacterial infection in the human body, scientists use their understanding of the structure of bacterial cells. They reason that a critical part of each bacterium is its cell wall, a rigid chain-link type structure surrounding the germ, similar to a chain-link fence, giving the cell protection and shape.
Many antibiotics attack bacteria by targeting the all-important bacterial cell walls. Vancomycin works by binding to the ends of the chains, preventing their linking to one other. Cells attacked this way die because their walls fall apart.
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Wonder Drugs from Nature
When penicillin, the first antibiotic drug produced for widespread use, became available about sixty years ago, people called it a "wonder drug," marveling at the quick results it produced in defeating bacterial infections. As harmful bacteria adapt and develop resistance to our existing antibiotics, medicinal chemists will continue to search the natural world for remarkable medicines like vancomycin to help combat our microscopic enemies.
Follow-up Activity - Vancomycin Word Find
Find each of the following words. You can also print this activity out to share with others.
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ANTIBIOTICS |
PRESCRIPTION |
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CHLORINE |
VANCOMYCIN |
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PENICILLIN |
MICROSCOPE |
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CELLWALL |
GEYSERS |
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BACTERIA |
STREPTOMYCES |
For a list of previous "Chlorine Compound of the Month" features, click here.
