AntibioticMech

cephalexin

CHEBI:3534 ·resolve ·ANTIBACTERIAL ·EXACT SEEDED

A semisynthetic first-generation cephalosporin antibiotic having methyl and β-(2R)-2-amino-2-phenylacetamido groups at the 3- and 7- of the cephem skeleton, respectively. It is effective against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms, and is used for treatment of infections of the skin, respiratory tract and urinary tract. — ChEBI

Classification

cephalosporinARO:0000032

Strictly broader compounds or drug classes this molecule belongs to.

• CHEBI:23066 CHEBI:23066
• CHEBI:72588 CHEBI:72588
• CHEBI:88225 CHEBI:88225
• ARO:0000032 ARO:0000032

Chemical structure

Computed structure properties

Molecular formula	C16H17N3O4S
Charge	0
Average mass	347.396 Da
Monoisotopic mass	347.09398 Da
Source	ChEBI
InChIKey	ZAIPMKNFIOOWCQ-UEKVPHQBSA-N

SMILES

[H][C@]12SCC(C)=C(C(=O)O)N1C(=O)[C@H]2NC(=O)[C@H](N)c1ccccc1

InChI

InChI=1S/C16H17N3O4S/c1-8-7-24-15-11(14(21)19(15)12(8)16(22)23)18-13(20)10(17)9-5-3-2-4-6-9/h2-6,10-11,15H,7,17H2,1H3,(H,18,20)(H,22,23)/t10-,11-,15-/m1/s1

Also called

• cefalexina (INN)— chebi
• cefalexine (INN)— chebi
• cefalexinum (INN)— chebi
• 7β-[(2R)-2-amino-2-phenylacetamido]-3-methyl-3,4-didehydrocepham-4-carboxylic acid (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• (6R,7R)-7-{[(2R)-2-amino-2-phenylacetyl]amino}-3-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azabicyclo[4.2.0]oct-2-ene-2-carboxylic acid (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• 7-(D-α-Aminophenylacetamido)desacetoxycephalosporanic acid (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• 7-β-(D-alpha-Amino-alpha-phenylacetylamino)-3-methyl-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• CEX (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• Cefalexin (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• Celexin (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• Cepastar (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• Cepexin (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• Cephacillin (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• Ceporexin (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
• LEX (EXACT_SYNONYM)— aro

Cross-references

Equivalent identifiers for this same structure in other resources.

• ARO:3000641
• beilstein:965503
• cas:15686-71-2
• drugbank:DB00567
• drugcentral:571
• hmdb:HMDB0014707
• kegg.compound:C06895
• kegg.drug:D00263
• lincs.smallmolecule:LSM-5957
• patent:US3275626
• patent:US3507861
• reaxys:4238892
• vsdb:1791
• wikipedia.en:Cefalexin
• chembl:CHEMBL1200544
• pubchem.compound:27447

Activity roles

Every antimicrobial role a source asserts for this compound — the unreduced evidence behind its antimicrobial_class.

• CHEBI:33281 CHEBI:33281
• CHEBI:36047 CHEBI:36047

Source concepts

Every upstream concept that resolved to this record. The merge is the product: this is what shows ChEBI and CARD are describing the same structure.

Upstream concepts merged into this record

Source	Native ID	Label	Minted CURIE	Version
ARO	ARO:3000641	cefalexin	antibioticmech:aro-90e5cc8a68	2026-08-30
CHEBI	CHEBI:3534	cephalexin	antibioticmech:chebi-f5d0d76424	2026-08-30

Molecular targets

The molecular entity or process this compound acts on. Each target carries evidence — this is a mechanistic claim, not a classification.

beta-lactam sensitive penicillin-binding protein PROTEIN DIRECT_BINDING_TARGET

ARO:3000749

CARD/ARO database assertion; target organism, strain, and assay are not specified. Penicillin-binding proteins are asserted as inhibited transpeptidases. Evidence status: PRIMARY_EVIDENCE_NEEDED. Source: CARD_ARO 2026-08-30 (retrieved 2026-08-30).

• ARO:3000749 (CARD/ARO asserts targeted_by_antibiotic ARO:3000641 (cefalexin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)

Curation history

1. SEEDED_FROM_SOURCES 2026-08-30 · seed_from_sources

   Seeded from data/raw/ inventories (ARO, CHEBI)

2. RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES 2026-08-30 · seed_from_sources

   Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories

3. RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES 2026-08-30 · seed_from_sources

   Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories

4. RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES 2026-08-31 · seed_from_sources

   Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories

Provenance

Seeded by scripts/seed_from_sources.py from the committed inventories in data/raw/. View the record.