Structure-activity relationships among the aminoglycoside antibiotics: role of hydroxyl and amino groups.

The close structural similarity of several of the deoxystreptamine-containing aminoglycoside antibiotics (gentamicins, neomycins, kanamycins, tobramycin) and the recent isolation of enzymatically N-acetylated aminoglycosides have permitted a systematic comparison of the structure-activity relationships in this group of antibiotics. The number and location of amino groups on the hexoses and the site of attachment of the other rings to deoxystreptamine have been shown to exert a profound effect on the ability of these compounds to inhibit or to cause misreading of polypeptide synthesis in vitro. The conclusions allow certain predictions to be made concerning the interaction of these compounds with the bacterial ribosome.