Vancomycin Hydrochloride, USP

- Overview
  - Vancomycin Hydrochloride, USP is a glycopeptide antibiotic derived from Streptomyces orientalis that was discovered in 1953 from a soil sample found in Borneo. It is effective against Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA. Vancomycin HCl is commonly used in selective media for isolation of Gram-negative bacteria as well as studies of nanoparticle transport and antibiotic resistance.
    Vancomycin HCl acts as a bacterial cell wall synthesis inhibitor by preventing the transfer and addition of NAM/NAG-peptides that make up the peptidoglycan cell wall structure.
    Vancomycin HCl has low cell toxicity in plant cells and has been used in conjunction with Cefotaxime or Carbenicillin to stop the growth of Agrobacterium in plant cell culture and transformation.
    Vancomycin Hydrochloride, USP conforms to United States Pharmacopoeia specifications.
    
    Please contact us at for specific academic pricing.
    
    Background
    
    Vancomycin HCl prevents cell wall synthesis by two separate mechanisms. One mechanism prevents N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM) and N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) peptides from linking together forming the peptidoglycan backbone through the incorporation of the Vancomycin HCl molecule to the D-alanyl-D-alanine terminal. The second mechanism prevents crosslinking between amino acid residues in the peptidoglycan chain altering bacterial cell membrane permeability as well as RNA synthesis.
- Properties
  - CAS Number
    
    1404-93-9
    
    Molecular Formula
    
    C66H75Cl2N9O24 · HCl
    
    Molecular Weight
    
    1485.71
    
    Appearance
    
    White or light brown powder
    
    Solubility
    
    Freely soluble in water
    
    Other Properties
    
    Source: Streptomyces orientalis
    Water Content (Karl Fischer): Not more than 5.0%
    PH: 2.5 - 4.5
    Assay: (Dried Basis): Not less than 900 μg/mg
    Identification: IR - Conforms
    Purity Level: >80%
    
    Storage
    
    2-8°C, protect from light
    
    * For research use only
- Applications
  - Application Description
    
    Spectrum: Vancomycin HCl inhibits growth of many Gram-positive bacteria including the antibiotic resistant superbug, MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Vancomycin HCl is effective against MRSA because it inhibits cell wall synthesis through a different mechanism other than β-lactam antibiotics.Gram-positive bacteria have emerged that are resistant to Vancomycin HCl, such as Vancomycin HCl resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) and Vancomycin HCl-resistant enterococci (VRE).
    
    Microbiology Applications: Vancomycin HCl inhibits the growth of most Gram-positive bacteria including MRSA. It is usually only indicated for bacteria causing serious or life-threatening infections like β-lactam-resistant staphylococci bacterial infections. There are now Vancomycin HCl resistant bacteria, primarily, Vancomycin HCl resistant S. aureus (VRSA), and Vancomycin HCl resistant enterococci (VRE).
    Vancomycin and Vancomycin HCl are commonly used in selective media for isolation of Gram-negative pathogens including Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae, Helicobacter pylori, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
    Representative MIC values include:
    Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 0.25 µg/mL - 2 µg/mL
    Clostridium difficile 0.06 µg/mL - 4 µg/mL
    Pryjma et al. used Vancomycin HCl (TOKU-E) in Mueller Hinton (MH) medium to isolate Campylobacter jejuni: "FdhTU-Modulated Formate Dehydrogenase Expression and Electron Donor Availability Enhance Recovery of Campylobacter jejuni following Host Cell Infection"
    Media Supplements
    Vancomycin can be used as a selective agent in several types of isolation media:
    Brucella medium - Brucella selective supplement
    Columbia Blood Agar - Campylobacter selective supplement (Skirrow)
    Columbia Blood Agar - Campylobacterselective supplement (Blaser-Wang)
    Wilkins-Chalgren Anaerobe Agar - Isolation of Gram-negative anaerobes
    Legionella CYE Agar - Legionella MWY Selective Supplement
    Columbia Blood Agar - Helicobacter pylori Selective Supplement (Dent)
    Legionella CYE Agar - Legionella GVPC Selective Supplement
    Campylobacter Agar - Campylobacter Selective Supplement (Karmali)
    Bolton Broth - Bolton Broth Selective Supplement
    VRE Medium - VRE Selective Supplement
    mTSB - VCC Selective Supplement
    Campylobacter Agar Base - Modified Karmali Selective Supplement
    Bolton Broth - Modified Bolton Broth Selective Supplement
    Brucella Medium Base - Modified Brucella Selective Supplement
    Legionella CYE Agar - Legionella GVPN Selective Supplement
    
    Plant Biology Applications: Vancomycin HCl has low toxicity to plant cells and is often used in Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformations as a method to control its growth in plant cell culture media. Vancomycin HCl is also suitable for bacterial contamination control in plant cell culture media and is sometimes used in combination with cefotaxime due to greater synergistic effects. Most studies do not describe any negative effects to the plant by using Vancomycin HCl, however, in a study done by Silva and Fukai (2001), lower efficiency of transformation was found when used at 500 µg/ml.
    
    Eukaryotic Cell Culture Applications: Vancomycin HCl can be used to select for cells containing the pcDNA3.1 resistance plasmid in 293 cell lines at an effective concentration of 400 µg/mL. For additional information on your cell culture needs, please visit our cell-culture database.