- Polyene antimycotic
Polyene antimycotics, sometimes referred to as polyene antibiotics, are a class of
antimicrobial polyene compounds that targetfungi .Amphotericin B ,nystatin , andnatamycin are examples of polyene antimycotics. Theirchemical structure s feature a large ring of atoms (essentially a cyclicester ring) containing multiple conjugated carbon-carbondouble bond s (hence "polyene ") on one side of the ring and multiplehydroxyl groups bonded to the other side of the ring. Their structures also often have a "d"-mycosamine (a type of amino-glycoside) group bonded to the molecule. [ [http://content.febsjournal.org/cgi/content/full/269/18/4533 Solution NMR structure of five representative glycosylated polyene macrolide antibiotics] ] The series of conjugated double bonds typically absorbs strongly in the ultraviolet-visible region of theelectromagnetic spectrum , often resulting in the polyene antibiotics having a yellow color.These polyene antimycotics are typically obtained from some species of "
Streptomyces " bacteria. The polyenes bind toergosterol in the fungal cell membrane and promote leakiness which may contribute to fungal cell death.References
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