Abstract
Vancomycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, inhibits the growth of cell walls by complex formation with peptides terminating in D-alanyl-D-alanine. The structure of vancomycin was determined by X-ray analysis of the degradation product CDP-I. A model of the complex is proposed based on this study and spectroscopic data.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
McCormick, M. H., Stark, W. M., Pittenger, G. E., Pittenger, R. C. & McGuire, G. M. Antibiotics Annual, 1955–1956, 606 (Medical Encyclopedia Inc., New York, 1956).
Lightbown, J. W. in Experimental Chemotherapy III (ed. R. J. Schitzer & F. Hawking) 278 (Associated Press, London, 1964).
Perkins, H. R. Biochem. J. 106, 35P (1968).
Perkins, H. R. Biochem. J. 111, 195–205 (1969).
Nieto, M. & Perkins, H. R. Biochem. J. 123, 789–803 (1971).
Marshall, F. J. J. med. Chem. 8, 18–22 (1965).
Johnson, C. R. thesis, Univ. Illinois (1962).
Johnson, A. W., Smith, R. M. & Guthrie, R. D. J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. I, 2153–2159 (1972).
Weringa, W. D., Williams, D. H., Feeney, J., Brown, J. P. & King, R. W. J. chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. I, 443–446 (1972).
Smith, K. A., Williams, D. H. & Smith, G. A. J. chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. I, 2369–2376 (1974).
Smith, G. A., Smith, K. A. & Williams, D. H. J. chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. I, 2108–2115 (1975).
Williams, D. H. & Kalman, J. R. J. Am. chem. Soc. 99, 2768–2774 (1977).
Roberts, P. J., Kennard, O., Smith, K. A. & Williams, D. H. J. chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. 772–773 (1973).
Brown, J. P., Feeney, J. & Burgen, A. V. S. Molec. Pharmac. 11, 119–125 (1975).
Brown, J. P., Terenius, L., Feeney, J. & Burgen, A. S. V. Molec. Pharmac. 11, 126–132 (1975).
Johnson, C. K. Rep. ORNL-3794 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, 1965).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sheldrick, G., Jones, P., Kennard, O. et al. Structure of vancomycin and its complex with acetyl-D-alanyl-D-alanine. Nature 271, 223–225 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/271223a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/271223a0
This article is cited by
-
Vancomycin-conjugated polydopamine-coated magnetic nanoparticles for molecular diagnostics of Gram-positive bacteria in whole blood
Journal of Nanobiotechnology (2022)
-
Molecular dynamics simulations of the secondary-binding site in disaccharide-modified glycopeptide antibiotics
Scientific Reports (2022)
-
Advances in Fe(II)/2-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase-mediated C–H bond oxidation for regioselective and stereoselective hydroxyl amino acid synthesis: from structural insights into practical applications
Systems Microbiology and Biomanufacturing (2021)
-
A brief history of antibiotics and select advances in their synthesis
The Journal of Antibiotics (2018)
-
Optical and force nanoscopy in microbiology
Nature Microbiology (2016)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.