| Indication | For the treatment of Staphylococci nasal carriers. |
| Pharmacodynamics | Mupirocin, an antibiotic produced from Pseudomonas fluorescens, is structurally unrelated to any other topical or systemic antibiotics. Mupirocin is used to treat infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus and beta-hemolytic streptococci including Streptococcus pyogenes. This antibiotic has little, if any, potential for cross-resistance with other antibiotics. |
| Mechanism of action | Mupirocin reversibly binds to bacterial isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase, an enzyme which promotes the conversion of isoleucine and tRNA to isoleucyl-tRNA. Prevention of this enzymes from functioning properly results in the inhibition of bacterial protein and RNA synthesis. |
| Absorption | No measurable systemic absorption |
| Volume of distribution | Not Available |
| Protein binding | 97% |
| Metabolism | Hepatic. Following intravenous or oral administration, mupirocin is rapidly metabolized. The principal metabolite is monic acid, which has no antibacterial activity. |
| Route of elimination | Following the application of Centany (mupirocin ointment),2% to a 400 cm2 area on the back of 23 healthy volunteers once daily for 7 days, the mean (range) cumulative urinary excretion of monic acid over 24 hrs following the last administration was 1.25% (0.2% to 3.0%) of the administered dose of mupirocin. |
| Half life | 20 to 40 minutes |
| Clearance | Not Available |
| Toxicity | Not Available |