Vancomycin

Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic that blocks bacterial cell-wall synthesis by binding cell-wall precursors. It treats serious infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Peptidoglycan: A mesh-like polymer of sugars and peptides that gives bacterial cell walls strength and shape. Vancomycin disrupts the assembly of this structural wall material.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: A strain of Staphylococcus aureus resistant to methicillin and most other beta-lactam antibiotics. Vancomycin is commonly used for serious infections caused by this pathogen.
Edmund Kornfeld: An American chemist who helped isolate and characterize vancomycin at Eli Lilly. Kornfeld was among the researchers who identified the antibiotic in the 1950s.
Teicoplanin: A glycopeptide antibiotic used against susceptible Gram-positive bacteria, with a longer half-life than vancomycin. It shares a cell-wall target with vancomycin but has different pharmacokinetics and availability.
D-Ala-D-Ala: A terminal dipeptide in peptidoglycan precursors that is recognized by several cell-wall-targeting antibiotics. Vancomycin binds this motif, blocking precursor incorporation into the growing wall.
Clostridioides difficile infection: An intestinal illness caused by toxin-producing Clostridioides difficile, often following disruption of gut microbiota. Oral vancomycin is used to treat this infection because it acts within the intestine.
Eli Lilly and Company: An American pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis. The company developed vancomycin from a soil-derived microbial product.
Dalbavancin: A long-acting lipoglycopeptide antibiotic used to treat certain acute bacterial skin infections. This related drug offers prolonged exposure after intravenous dosing.
Lipid II: A membrane-bound peptidoglycan precursor that carries a disaccharide-pentapeptide building block across the bacterial membrane. Vancomycin binds the D-Ala-D-Ala end of this precursor before it joins the cell wall.
Therapeutic drug monitoring: Measurement of drug concentrations in a patient to guide dosing and reduce treatment failure or toxicity. Monitoring helps individualize intravenous vancomycin dosing, especially for serious infections.

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