Chemical Properties
White Crystalline Solid
Originator
Ultroxim,Duncan,Italy,1978
Uses
Cephalosporin antibacterial.
Definition
ChEBI: Cefuroxime sodium is an organic molecular entity.
Manufacturing Process
A stirred mixture of N,N-dimethylacetamide (75 ml), acetonitrile (75 ml),
triethylamine (42 ml, 0.3 mol) and (6R,7R)-7-amino-3-carbamoyloxy-methylceph-3-em-4-carboxylic acid was immersed in an ice-bath and water
(10 ml) was added. The mixture was stirred at 0°C to 2°C for 45 minutes, the
solid slowly dissolving to give a yellow solution.
Meanwhile a stirred suspension of phosphorus pentachloride (14.99 g, 0.072
mol) in dry dichloromethane (150 ml) was cooled to 0°C, and N,N-dimethylacetamide (27.5 ml) was added. The resulting solution was recooled
to -10°C and 2-(fur-2-yl)-2-methoxyiminoacetic acid (synisomer) (12.17 g,
0.072 mol) was added. The mixture was stirred at -10°C for 15 minutes and
crushed ice (35 g) was added. The mixture was stirred at 0°C for 10minutes,
where after the lower dichloromethane phase was added over 10 minutes to
the cephalosporin solution prepared above, cooled to -10°C so that the
reaction temperature rose steadily to 0°C. The mixture was stirred at 0°C to
2°C for 1 hour, where after the cooling bath was removed and the reaction
temperature allowed to rise to 20°C over 1 hour. The reaction mixture was
then added slowly to 2 N hydrochloric acid (100 ml) diluted with cold water
(1.15 l) at 5°C. The pH of the two phase mixture was adjusted to below 2
with 2 N hydrochloric acid (10 ml), and the mixture was stirred and recooled
to 5°C. The solid which precipitated was filtered, washed with
dichloromethane (100 ml) and water (250 ml), and dried in vacuo at 40°C
overnight to give the title compound (22.04 g, 86.6%).
Brand name
Kefurox (Lilly); Zinacef
(GlaxoSmithKline).
Therapeutic Function
Antibiotic
Clinical Use
Cefuroxime (Zinacef) is the first of a series of α-methoximinoacyl–substituted cephalosporins that constitute most of thethird-generation agents available for clinical use. A syn alkoximinosubstituent is associated with β-lactamase stability in these cephalosporins.78 Cefuroxime is classified as a secondgenerationcephalosporin because its spectrum of antibacterialactivity more closely resembles that of cefamandole. It is,however, active against β-lactamase–producing strains thatare resistant to cefamandole, such as E. coli, K. pneumoniae,N. gonorrhoeae, and H. influenzae. Other important Gramnegativepathogens, such as Serratia, indole-positive Proteusspp., P. aeruginosa, and B. fragilis, are resistant.Cefuroxime is distributed throughout the body. It penetratesinflamed meninges in high enough concentrations tobe effective in meningitis caused by susceptible organisms.Three-times-daily dosing is required to maintain effectiveplasma levels for most sensitive organisms, such asNeisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and H.influenzae. It has a plasma half-life of 1.4 hours.
