| Item |
Information |
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Drug Groups
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approved; investigational |
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Description
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Mupirocin (pseudomonic acid A, or Bactroban or Centany) is an antibiotic originally isolated from Pseudomonas fluorescens. It is used topically, and is primarily effective against Gram-positive bacteria. Mupirocin is bacteriostatic at low concentrations and bactericidal at high concentrations.
Mupirocin has a unique mechanism of action, which is selective binding to bacterial isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase, which halts the incorporation of isoleucine into bacterial proteins. Because this mechanism of action is not shared with any other antibiotic, mupirocin has few problems of antibiotic cross-resistance. |
| Indication |
For the treatment of Staphylococci nasal carriers. |
| Pharmacology |
Mupirocin, an antibiotic produced from Pseudomonas fluorescens, is structurally unrelated to any other topical or systemic antibiotics. Mupirocin is used to treat infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus and beta-hemolytic streptococci including Streptococcus pyogenes. This antibiotic has little, if any, potential for cross-resistance with other antibiotics. |
| Affected Organisms |
| • |
Enteric bacteria and other eubacteria |
|
| Biotransformation |
Hepatic. Following intravenous or oral administration, mupirocin is rapidly metabolized. The principal metabolite is monic acid, which has no antibacterial activity. |
| Absorption |
No measurable systemic absorption |
| Half Life |
20 to 40 minutes |
| Protein Binding |
97% |
| Elimination |
Following the application of Centany (mupirocin ointment),2% to a 400 cm2 area on the back of 23 healthy volunteers once daily for 7 days, the mean (range) cumulative urinary excretion of monic acid over 24 hrs following the last administration was 1.25% (0.2% to 3.0%) of the administered dose of mupirocin. |
| External Links |
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