Hetacillin Potassium

**Semantic type:** Antibiotic|Pharmacologic Substance

**Definition:** The potassium salt of hetacillin, a semi-synthetic penicillin antibiotic with bactericidal activity. Hetacillin is a prodrug that is converted to ampicillin via esterases. Ampicillin binds to and inactivated penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) located on the inner membrane of the bacterial cell wall, thereby preventing the cross-linkage of peptidoglycans, which are critical components of the bacterial cell wall. This leads to an interruption of the bacterial cell wall and causes bacterial cell lysis.

**Synonyms:** - HETACILLIN POTASSIUM