kanamycin

American  

[kan-uh-mahy-sin] / ˌkæn əˈmaɪ sɪn /

noun

Pharmacology.

1. a broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic, C 18 H 35 N 3 O 10 , isolated from the Japanese soil bacterium Streptomyces kanamyceticus and used in the treatment of infections, especially those caused by Gram-negative bacilli.

---

kanamycin British  

/ ˌkænəˈmaɪsɪn /

noun

1. an aminoglycoside antibiotic obtained from the soil bacterium Streptomyces kanamyceticus, used in the treatment of various infections, esp those caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Formula: C 18 H 36 N 4 O 11

---

Etymology

Origin of kanamycin

First recorded in 1955–60; from New Latin kana(mycēticus), the specific epithet of the genus, equivalent to Japanese kana- “golden,” from kane “gold” (from the color of the bacterial colonies) + New Latin myc(ēticus) “pertaining to a mushroom” + English -in; see origin at streptomyces ( def. ), myco- ( def. ), -in ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Tisile eventually lost her hearing as a result of painful daily injections of kanamycin, an older TB medication.

From Scientific American • Aug. 14, 2023

Her treatment now involved 13 different medications, including injections of kanamycin, which can cause permanent hearing loss and kidney impairment.

From Scientific American • May 19, 2022

Last week the payoff was reported at a two-day Manhattan medical meeting: kanamycin, an antibiotic developed from a microbe found in K-2J, has won quick renown.

From Time Magazine Archive

To fight the guilty strains of germs-which are resistant to most widely used antibiotics-doctors are trying two new antibiotics not yet released for general use, vancomycin and one developed in Japan called kanamycin.

From Time Magazine Archive