Chloramphenicol, USP is a broad-spectrum bacteriostatic antimicrobial that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis. Originally derived from Streptomyces venezuelae, Chloramphenicol is a synthetic antibiotic that is effective against a wide variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
Chloramphenicol, USP is soluble in ethanol but sparingly soluble in water.
Chloramphenicol, USP conforms to United States Pharmacopoeia specifications.
We also offer:
- Chloramphenicol Solution (50 mg/ml)(C090)
- Chloramphenicol Palmitate (C168)
- Chloramphenicol Succinate (C169)
- Chloramphenicol Succinate Sodium (C170)
- Chloramphenicol Acetate (C172)
Mechanism of Action | After entering a bacterial cell, Chloramphenicol reversibly binds to the peptidyltransferase center at the 50S ribosomal subunit of 70S ribosome, preventing peptide bond formation. Resistance to Chloramphenicol may be due to decreased cell permeability or a mutation in the 50S ribosomal subunit. |
Spectrum | Chloramphenicol is effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. It is also effective against Mycoplasmas, Chlamydiae, and rickettsiae. |
Microbiology Applications | Chloramphenicol is commonly used in clinical in vitro microbiological antimicrobial susceptibility tests (panels, discs, and MIC strips) against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microbial isolates. Medical microbiologists use AST results to recommend antibiotic treatment options. Representative MIC values include:
Bacterial resistance to Chloramphenicol is enzymatic inactivation by acetylation via different types of Chloramphenicol acetyltransferases (CATs), and this feature has been exploited for gene selection. Chloramphenicol is routinely used to select for transformed cells that express the Chloramphenicol resistance gene, cat. Chloramphenicol is used as a selective agent in: Dermasel Agar - Dermasel Selective Supplement. For selection of dermatophyte fungi from hair, nails, and skin scrapings. Chromogenic Candida Agar - Candida Selective Supplement |
Plant Biology Applications |
Chloramphenicol be used in plant transformation studies, and by inserting the gene of interest along with the Chloramphenicol resistant gene (cat), one can select for transformed plants. Chimeric genes made up of the nopaline synthase promoter and bacterial coding sequences that specify resistance to Chloramphenicol were inserted into a Ti plasmid vector and used to transform tobacco protoplasts. The use of a non-oncogenic Ti plasmid was used and phenotypically normal fertile plants regenerated from the resistant calli, thus providing a natural environment for studying gene expression and development of plant cells (De Bloc et al, 1984). |
Cancer Applications | Researchers at the University of Manchester, UK found a conserved phenotypic dependence on the biogenesis of mitochondria for the expansion of cancer stem cells. Since Chroramphenicol can inhibit mitochrondrial biogenesis, it was found to inhibit tumor-sphere formation in MCF7 cells. This approach is mutation-independent, and treats cancer like a single disease of ‘stemness’, independent of tumor type. This approach was successful in vitro with 12 different cancer cell lines, across 8 different tumor types (breast, DCIS, ovarian, prostate, lung, pancreatic, melanoma, and glioblastoma (brain) (Lamb et al, 2015). |
Molecular Formula | C11H12Cl2N2O5 |
Appearance | White to greyish-white or yellowish-white, needle-like crystals or elongated plates |
Solubility | Soluble in ethanol (50 mg/ml). Sparingly soluble in water (2.5 mg/ml) |
References | De Bloc M, Herrera-Estrella L, Van Montagu M, Schhell J, and Zambryski P (1984) Expression of foreign genes in regenerated plants and in their progeny. EMBO Journal 3(8):1681-1689 Lamb, R et al (2015) Antibiotics that target mitochondria effectively eradicate cancer stem cells, across multiple tumor types: Treating cancer like an infectious disease. Oncotarget 6(7):4569-84. PMID 25625193 Li W, Ruf S and Bock R (2011) Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase as selectable marker for plastid transformation. Plant Mol Biol 76:443–451 PMID 20721602 Schwarz S, Kehrenberg C, Doublet B, Cloeckaert A (2004) Molecular basis of bacterial resistance to Chloramphenicol and florfenicol, FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 28(5):519–542 PMID 15539072 Sharma KK, Bhatnagar-Mathur P and Thorpe TA (2005) Genetic transformation technology: Status and problems. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol.—Plant 41:102–112 |
MIC | Bacillus cereus| <2 - 31.25|| Bacillus pumilus| 4|| Bacillus subtilis| 1 - 4000|| Bacteroides bivius| 2|| Bacteroides caccae| 1 - 4|| Bacteroides distasonis| 1 - 8|| Bacteroides fragilis| 0.015 - 32|| Bacteroides melaninogenicus| 2|| Bacteroides ovatus| 41372|| Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron| 2 - 8|| Bacteroides uniformis| 1 - 32|| Bacteroides vulgatus| 0.5 - 32|| Bifidobacterium adolescentis| 3.95|| Bifidobacterium animalis| 7.8|| Bifidobacterium bifidum| <0.98 - 1.95|| Bifidobacterium breve| 7.8|| Bifidobacterium Infantis| 62.5|| Bifidobacterium longum| 15.6 - 31.25|| Bifidobacterium pseudolongum| 7.8|| Bifidobacterium sp. | 7.81 - 31.25|| Bifidobacterium spp.| 0.25 - 2|| Bifidobacterium thermophilum| 7.8|| Borrelia burgdorferi S.L.| 1.25 - 2|| Brachyspira hyodysenteriae| 1 - 128|| Brucella| 0.25 - 4|| Brucella suis| 15.6|| Campylobacter coli | 16 - 64|| Campylobacter jejuni| 8 - 64|| Campylobacter lari| 8 - 64|| Campylobacter spp.| ≤2 - 16|| Clostridium bifermentans| 2 - 4|| Clostridium butyricum| 0.5 - 4|| Clostridium clostridioforme| 0.5 - 4|| Clostridium difficile| 2 - 4|| Clostridium perfringens| 0.5 - 3.9|| Clostridium ramosum| 0.5 - 4|| Clostridium septicum| 0.5 - 4|| Clostridium species| 2 - 4|| Clostridium spiroforme| 2 - 4|| Clostridium sporogenes| 0.5 - 4|| Clostridium spp.| 0.015 - 4|| Corynebacterium spp.| 1 - >16|| Diplococcus pneumoniae| 12.5 - 100|| Eikenella corrodens| ≤2 - >8|| Enterobacter aerogenes| 2 - >256|| Enterobacter cloacae| <2 - >256|| Enterobacteriaceae| 0.25 - 128|| Enterococci| 1 - 128|| Enterococcus faecalis| 0.25 - >100|| Enterococcus faecium| ≤0.12 - 64|| Enterococcus hirae| 3.13 - 50|| Enterococcus spp.| 4 - >16|| Escherichia coli| 0.015 - 10000|| Eubacterium spp.| 0.12 - 2|| Finegoldia magna| 4 - 16|| Fusobacterium mortiferum| 0.5 - 32|| Fusobacterium necrophorum| 1.6 - 42.5|| Fusobacterium nucleatum| 0.5 - 32|| Fusobacterium spp.| 0.03 - 32|| Fusobacterium varium| 0.5 - 32|| Haemolytic streptococci| 1 - 16|| Haemophilus influenzae| ≤0.012 - 16|| Haemophilus spp.| 0.06 - 128|| Helicobacter pullorum| 1 - 16|| Helicobacter pylori| 2 - 8|| Klebsiella pneumonia| 0.98 - >512|| Lactobacillus acidophilus| 0.98 - 250|| Lactobacillus brevis| 0.125 - 8|| Lactobacillus buchneri | 4|| Lactobacillus bulgaricus | 3.9 - 125|| Lactobacillus casei| 0.5 - 15.6|| Lactobacillus curvatus| 1 - 4|| Lactobacillus delbrueckii| 0.125 - 8|| Lactobacillus fermentum| 0.5 - 2|| Lactobacillus gasseri| 250|| Lactobacillus johnsonii | 250|| Lactobacillus lactis| 1.9 - 3.9|| Lactobacillus paracasei | 0.98 - 250|| Lactobacillus pentosus| 8|| Lactobacillus plantarum| 0.5 - 125|| Lactobacillus reuteri| 2 - 200|| Lactobacillus rhamnosus| 0.5 - 250|| Lactobacillus sakei| 1 - 4|| Lactobacillus salivarius | 2 - 250|| Lactobacillus sp.| 0.125 - 16|| Lactococcus | 1 - 8|| Leuconostoc | 1 - 8|| Leuconostoc mesenteroides| 8|| Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides| 8|| Listeria ivanovii | 1|| Listeria monocytogenes| 0.5 - 125|| Listeria spp.| 4 - >256|| Micrococcus kristinae| <0.5 - <2|| Micrococcus luteus| 1 - 2|| Moraxella catarrhalis| 0.78 - ≤8|| Mycobacterium smegmatis| 8 - >64|| Mycoplasma hominis| 8|| Neisseria gonorrhoeae | 0.125 - 2|| Neisseria spp.| 0.06 - 8|| Nocardia asteroides| 12.5 - ≥400|| Pandoraea apista| 8 - 16|| Pandoraea pnomenusa| 16|| Parvimonas micra| 0.75 - 6|| Pediococcus | 1 - 8|| Pediococcus acidilactici| 4|| Pediococcus pentosaceus| 8|| Peptococcus asaccharolyticus| 1 - 2|| Peptoniphilus gorbachii | 2 - 3|| Peptoniphilus harei | 1.5 - 4|| Peptoniphilus ivorii | 1 - 3|| Peptoniphilus lacrimalis | 0.75 - 3|| Peptoniphilus octavius | 2|| Peptostreptococcus anaerobius| 1 - 32|| Peptostreptococcus magnus| 1 - 32|| Peptostreptococcus micros| 1 - 32|| Peptostreptococcus spp.| 0.03 - 32|| Pneumococci| 1 - 16|| Prevotella buccae| 1 - 4|| Prevotella intermedia| 1 - 4|| Prevotella melaninogenicus | 1 - 4|| Prevotella oralis| 1 - 4|| Prevotella spp.| 1 - 4|| Propionibacterium| 0.5 - 2|| Proteus vulgaris| 0.007 - 31.25|| Providencia smartii | 32|| Pseudomonas aeruginosa| 0.062 - 256|| Pseudomonas pseudomallei| 1.6 - >100|| Pseudomonas solanacearum | 6000|| Pseudomonas stutzeri | 31.25|| Pseudomonas syringae| 3.91 - 31.25|| Ralstonia solanacearum | 20|| Rhodococcus equi | 4 - 64|| Ruminococcus gnavus| 3|| Salmonella Paratyphi| 12.4|| Salmonella poona| <10|| Salmonella sp.| 4 - >128|| Salmonella typhi| 0.007 - 32000|| Serratia marcescens| <2|| Shigella| 0.25 - 64|| Shigella boydii| 15.6|| Shigella dysenteriae| <2|| Shigella flexneri| 4 - 256|| Shigella sonnei| 0.98 - 256|| Staphylococci| ≤0.12 - 32|| Staphylococcus aureus| 0.06 - >128|| Staphylococcus auricularis| 0.05 - >200|| Staphylococcus capitis| 0.05 - >200|| Staphylococcus cohnii subsp. Cohnii| 4 - 8|| Staphylococcus epidermidis| 0.007 - >200|| Staphylococcus faecalis| 3.9|| Staphylococcus haemolyticus| 0.05 - >200|| Staphylococcus hominis| 0.05 - >200|| Staphylococcus intermedius | 8|| Staphylococcus pneumonia| 2 - 16|| Staphylococcus pyogenes| 50|| Staphylococcus saprophyticus| 8|| Staphylococcus sciuri| 8|| Staphylococcus simulans| 16|| Staphylococcus warneri| 0.05 - >200|| Staphylococcus xylosus| 8|| Stenotrophomonas maltophilia| 4 - 256|| Streptococcus bovis| 0.25 - 8|| Streptococcus faecalis| <2 - 128|| Streptococcus infantarius | 0.25 - 8|| Streptococcus mutans| 15.6|| Streptococcus pneumonia| ≤0.25 -32|| Streptococcus pyogenes| <2|| Treponema hyodysenteriae | 1.56 - 3.13|| Veillonella parvula| 0.5 - 8|| Veillonella spp.| 0.015 - 8|| Vibrio cholerae| 12.8|| Vibrio harveyi| 1.56|| Vibrio mimicus| <5|| Weissella spp.| 2 - 16|| Xanthomonas axonopodis| 4000|| Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris| 7.81|| Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli| 31.25|| Xanthomonas vesicatoria| 20 - 4000|| Xylella fastidiosa| 1 - 8|| |