Sultamicillin


Sultamicillin, sold under the brand name Unasyn among others, is an oral form of the antibiotic combination ampicillin/sulbactam. It contains esterified ampicillin and sulbactam.
The pharmacokinetic properties of sultamicillin are improved compared to a combination of ampicillin and sulbactam. Sultamicillin increases the absorption and decreases the chances of diarrhea and dysentery. The inclusion of sulbactam extends ampicillin's spectrum of action to beta-lactamase producing strains of bacteria. Oral sulbactam with parenteral form provides a regimen of continuous sulbactam therapy throughout the treatment, resulting in better clinical results.
It was patented in 1979 and approved for medical use in 1987.

Medical uses

Medical uses for sultamicillin include:
Sultamicillin is a mutual prodrug of ampicillin and sulbactam. Ampicillin, a semi-synthetic orally active broad spectrum antibiotic, is linked via a methylene group with a beta-lactamase inhibitor. Sultamicillin is chemically oxymethyl penicillinate sulfone ester of ampicillin.

Mechanism of action

After absorption, sultamicillin releases ampicillin and sulbactam into the system, so all the antibacterial efficacy of sultamicillin is due to ampicillin and sulbactam. Ampicillin exerts antibacterial activity against sensitive organisms by inhibiting biosynthesis of cell wall mucopeptide where as sulbactam irreversibly inhibits most important beta-lactamases that occur in resistant strains.