Linezolid

Linezolid is a synthetic oxazolidinone antibiotic with activity against a wide range of Gram-positive bacteria. Displays potent antibacterial activity against a variety of multidrug-resistant gram-positive microbes in vitro and in vivo, including resistant strains of several species, such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), penicillin-resistant pneumococci, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, various anaerobic bacteria, and several mycobacteria and streptococci (MICs = 2-4mg/ml). Linezolid inhibits protein synthesis by binding to domain V of the 23S ribosomal RNA of the 50S subunit of bacterial ribosomes and preventing the formation of a functional 70S initiation complex, thus inhibiting bacterial mRNA translation. Linezolid is also a weak, reversible, nonselective inhibitor of monoamine oxidase.