ABSTRACT

Since the discovery of penicillin in the 1940s and its first clinical use in the 1950s, bacterial infections have posed little threat. The beauty of penicillin lies in its target, a set of enzymes unique to bacteria, namely the enzymes involved in the construction and maintenance of the bacterial cell wall; these are known as the penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) (Ghuysen, 1994). Rather conveniently, these enzymes are found in the periplasmic space and are thus readily accessible to the drug. However, in recent years, antibiotic-resistant strains have emerged and resistance is rapidly transmitted to other bacterial strains and species.