Amphotericin B (fungicide)
Polyene antibiotic (C47H73NO17, molecular weight 924.1), efficient against both fungi and yeast contaminations, no effects on bacteria. By complexing with sodium-desoxycholate in phosphate buffer, the low water solubility is improved.
mechanism: Disturbs cell membrane permeability by binding to cell membrane sterols of fungi. Effective against, inter alia, Candida types. By binding to planar sterols, such as cholesterol, it may modify the cell membrane, which becomes permeable to ions (K+, Mg2+) and other low-molecular substances (e.g. amino acids, sugar, nucleotides).