chloramphenicol
An organochlorine compound that is dichloro-substituted acetamide containing a nitrobenzene ring, an amide bond and two alcohol functions.
Classification
phenicol antibioticARO:3000387
-
CHEBI:23824 -
CHEBI:35716 -
CHEBI:36683 -
CHEBI:37622 - phenicol antibiotic
ARO:3000387
Chemical structure
| Molecular formula | C11H12Cl2N2O5 |
|---|---|
| Charge | 0 |
| Average mass | 323.132 Da |
| Monoisotopic mass | 322.01233 Da |
| Source | ChEBI |
| InChIKey | WIIZWVCIJKGZOK-RKDXNWHRSA-N |
O=C(N[C@H](CO)[C@H](O)c1ccc([N+](=O)[O-])cc1)C(Cl)Cl
InChI=1S/C11H12Cl2N2O5/c12-10(13)11(18)14-8(5-16)9(17)6-1-3-7(4-2-6)15(19)20/h1-4,8-10,16-17H,5H2,(H,14,18)/t8-,9-/m1/s1
Also called
- Amphicol
- Chloramex
- Chlorocid
- Chlorocol
- Chloromycetin
- Econochlor
- Fenicol
- Globenicol
- Halomycetin
- Oleomycetin
- Sificetina
- chloramphenicolum
- chloramphénicol
- cloramfenicol
- 2,2-dichloro-N-[(1R,2R)-2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl)-2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethyl]acetamide
- (−)-chloramphenicol
- CHLORAMPHENICOL
- Chloramphenicol
- D-(−)-2,2-dichloro-N-(β-hydroxy-α-(hydroxymethyl)-p-nitrophenylethyl)acetamide
- D-(−)-threo-1-p-nitrophenyl-2-dichloroacetylamino-1,3-propanediol
- chlornitromycin
- laevomycetinum
- levomicetina
- levomycetin
- CHL
Cross-references
- chloramphenicol
ARO:3000385 - beilstein:2225532
- cas:56-75-7
- chemspider:5744
- hmdb:HMDB0014589
- kegg.compound:C00918
- lincs.smallmolecule:LSM-5256
- metacyc.compound:CHLORAMPHENICOL
- pdb-ccd:CLM
- pesticides:chloramphenicol
- vsdb:1835
- chembl:CHEMBL130
- pubchem.compound:5959
Drug registries
Patents and articles
- patent:GB795131
- patent:GB796901
- patent:US2483871
- patent:US2483884
- patent:US2483892
- patent:US2839577
- wikipedia.en:Chloramphenicol
Activity roles
- antimicrobial agent
CHEBI:33281 - antibacterial drug
CHEBI:36047
Source concepts
| Source | Native ID | Label | Minted CURIE | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARO | ARO:3000385 |
chloramphenicol | antibioticmech:aro-859fb8f49a |
2026-08-30 |
| CHEBI | CHEBI:17698 |
chloramphenicol | antibioticmech:chebi-9f801b8864 |
2026-08-30 |
Molecular targets
antibiotic sensitive peptidyl transferase (23S rRNA) NUCLEIC_ACID DIRECT_BINDING_TARGET
50S ribosomal peptidyl-transferase center RIBOSOMAL_SUBUNIT DIRECT_BINDING_TARGET
Escherichia coli NCBITaxon:562
Mechanism summary
- Mode of action
- PROTEIN_SYNTHESIS_INHIBITION microbial target
- Clinical status
- APPROVED
Activity spectrum
| Organism | Activity | MIC | Disk diffusion | Assay | Strain | Sample/genome | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterococcus faecalis NCBITaxon:1351 | — | >32.0 mg/L | — | Broth microdilution chloramphenicol MIC; modal MIC reported; interpreted using CLSI 2025 M100 S35. | 0782 |
BioSample SAMN15040081 |
EvidencePage data (JSON.gz) |
| Enterococcus faecalis NCBITaxon:1351 | — | >32.0 mg/L | — | Broth microdilution chloramphenicol MIC; modal MIC reported; interpreted using CLSI 2025 M100 S35. | 0780 | — | EvidencePage data (JSON.gz) |
Resistance mechanisms
ANTIBIOTIC_EFFLUX 39
| Determinant | ARO ID | Organism | Gene families | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AcrAB-TolC | ARO:3000384 | — | ||
| AdeIJK | ARO:3000772 | — | ||
| Enterobacter aerogenes acrR with mutation conferring multidrug antibiotic resistance | ARO:3003374 | — | ||
| Escherichia coli mdfA | ARO:3001328 | — | ||
| MdsABC | ARO:3000786 | — | ||
| MexAB-OprM | ARO:3000386 | — | ||
| MexCD-OprJ | ARO:3000797 | — | ||
| MexEF-OprN | ARO:3000798 | — | ||
| MexEF-OprN with MexS mutations conferring resistance to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, and trimethoprim | ARO:3004068 | — | ||
| MexEF-OprN with MexT mutation conferring resistance to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, and trimethoprim | ARO:3004066 | — | ||
| MexEF-OprN with MvaT deletion conferring resistance to chloramphenicol and norfloxacin | ARO:3004070 | — | ||
| MexMN-OprM | ARO:3003703 | — | ||
| MexPQ-OpmE | ARO:3003697 | — | ||
| MexVW-OprM | ARO:3003029 | — | ||
| MexXY-OprM | ARO:3003032 | — | ||
| Rhodococcus fascians cmr | ARO:3002701 | — | ||
| Salmonella enterica cmlA | ARO:3002691 | — | ||
| SmeDEF | ARO:3003054 | — | ||
| Staphylococcus aureus LmrS | ARO:3004572 | — | ||
| Streptomyces lividans cmlR | ARO:3002690 | — | ||
| bmr | ARO:3003007 | — | ||
| cmlA1 | ARO:3002693 | — | ||
| cmlA4 | ARO:3002694 | — | ||
| cmlA5 | ARO:3002695 | — | ||
| cmlA6 | ARO:3002696 | — | ||
| cmlA8 | ARO:3004665 | — | ||
| cmlA9 | ARO:3005043 | — | ||
| cmlB | ARO:3002698 | — | ||
| cmlB1 | ARO:3002699 | — | ||
| cmrA | ARO:3002702 | — | ||
| cmx | ARO:3002703 | — | ||
| emrD | ARO:3000309 | — | ||
| fexA | ARO:3002704 | — | ||
| flo | ARO:3003963 | — | ||
| floR | ARO:3002705 | — | ||
| mdtM | ARO:3001214 | — | ||
| pexA | ARO:3004666 | — | ||
| pp-flo | ARO:3002812 | — | ||
| ykkCD | ARO:3003062 | — |
ANTIBIOTIC_INACTIVATION 34
| Determinant | ARO ID | Organism | Gene families | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agrobacterium fabrum chloramphenicol acetyltransferase | ARO:3004451 | — | ||
| Alkalihalobacillus clausii chloramphenicol acetyltransferase | ARO:3004452 | — | ||
| Bacillus pumilus cat86 | ARO:3002672 | — | ||
| Campylobacter coli chloramphenicol acetyltransferase | ARO:3004454 | — | ||
| CatU | ARO:3003983 | — | ||
| Clostridium butyricum catB | ARO:3002674 | — | ||
| Enterococcus faecalis chloramphenicol acetyltransferase | ARO:3004458 | — | ||
| Enterococcus faecium chloramphenicol acetyltransferase | ARO:3004456 | — | ||
| Limosilactobacillus reuteri cat-TC | ARO:3002671 | — | ||
| Plasmid-encoded cat (pp-cat) | ARO:3002689 | — | ||
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa catB6 | ARO:3002678 | — | ||
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa catB7 | ARO:3002679 | — | ||
| Staphylococcus intermedius chloramphenicol acetyltransferase | ARO:3004457 | — | ||
| Streptococcus suis chloramphenicol acetyltransferase | ARO:3004455 | — | ||
| Vibrio anguillarum chloramphenicol acetyltransferase | ARO:3004460 | — | ||
| cat | ARO:3002670 | — | ||
| catA1 | ARO:3002683 | — | ||
| catA4 | ARO:3004657 | — | ||
| catA8 | ARO:3004658 | — | ||
| catB10 | ARO:3003110 | — | ||
| catB11 | ARO:3004660 | — | ||
| catB2 | ARO:3002675 | — | ||
| catB3 | ARO:3002676 | — | ||
| catB8 | ARO:3002680 | — | ||
| catB9 | ARO:3002681 | — | ||
| catD | ARO:3002682 | — | ||
| catII | ARO:3002684 | — | ||
| catII from Escherichia coli K-12 | ARO:3004656 | — | ||
| catIII | ARO:3002685 | — | ||
| catP | ARO:3002686 | — | ||
| catQ | ARO:3002687 | — | ||
| catS | ARO:3002688 | — | ||
| catV | ARO:3004357 | — | ||
| cmlv | ARO:3002700 | — |
ANTIBIOTIC_TARGET_ALTERATION 11
| Determinant | ARO ID | Organism | Gene families | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escherichia coli 23S rRNA with mutation conferring resistance to chloramphenicol | ARO:3004150 | — | ||
| Escherichia coli soxR with mutation conferring antibiotic resistance | ARO:3003381 | — | ||
| Escherichia coli soxS with mutation conferring antibiotic resistance | ARO:3003511 | — | ||
| Halobacterium halobium 23S rRNA mutation conferring resistance to chloramphenicol | ARO:3004180 | — | ||
| cfr(B) | ARO:3004649 | — | ||
| cfrA | ARO:3003441 | — | ||
| cfrC | ARO:3004146 | — | ||
| cipA | ARO:3003907 | — | ||
| clbA | ARO:3002814 | — | ||
| clbB | ARO:3002815 | — | ||
| clbC | ARO:3002816 | — |
UNKNOWN 6
| Determinant | ARO ID | Organism | Gene families | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMLA6-associated chloramphenicol resistance in native isolate SOF-1 |
— | Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCBITaxon:287 |
cmlA-like | |
| flo co-occurrence with chloramphenicol resistance in avian isolate 5334 |
— | Escherichia coli NCBITaxon:562 |
flo | |
| flo co-occurrence with chloramphenicol resistance in avian isolate 5790 |
— | Escherichia coli NCBITaxon:562 |
flo | |
| flo co-occurrence with chloramphenicol resistance in avian isolate 5840 |
— | Escherichia coli NCBITaxon:562 |
flo | |
| flo co-occurrence with chloramphenicol resistance in avian isolate 6468 |
— | Escherichia coli NCBITaxon:562 |
flo, cmlA | |
| flo/cmlA-positive bovine subgroup associated with chloramphenicol resistance |
— | Escherichia coli NCBITaxon:562 |
flo, cmlA |
ANTIBIOTIC_TARGET_PROTECTION 2
| Determinant | ARO ID | Organism | Gene families | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| optrA | ARO:3003746 | — | ||
| poxtA | ARO:3004470 | — |
REDUCED_PERMEABILITY 1
| Determinant | ARO ID | Organism | Gene families | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serratia marcescens Omp1 | ARO:3004128 | — |
Causal graphs
Chloramphenicol blocks the 50S peptidyl-transferase center MECHANISTIC
Chloramphenicol binds the 23S rRNA peptidyl-transferase center of the bacterial large ribosomal subunit and blocks peptide-bond formation by the translation elongation complex.
| Node | Label | Type | Grounding |
|---|---|---|---|
chloramphenicol |
chloramphenicol | COMPOUND | CHEBI:17698 |
peptidyl_transferase_center_23s_rrna |
23S rRNA peptidyl-transferase center | RNA | ARO:3000754 |
chloramphenicol_bound_ptc |
chloramphenicol-bound peptidyl-transferase center | STATE | REVIEWED_LABEL_ONLY |
peptide_bond_formation |
ribosomal peptide-bond formation | BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS | REVIEWED_LABEL_ONLY |
protein_synthesis |
bacterial protein synthesis | BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS | REVIEWED_LABEL_ONLY |
| Subject | Predicate | Object | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
chloramphenicol |
binds | chloramphenicol_bound_ptc |
|
peptidyl_transferase_center_23s_rrna |
participates in | chloramphenicol_bound_ptc |
|
chloramphenicol_bound_ptc |
decreases | peptide_bond_formation |
|
peptide_bond_formation |
supports | protein_synthesis |
Record-level evidence
Curation history
-
SEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
Seeded from data/raw/ inventories (ARO, CHEBI)
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
REVIEWED
Verified exact ChEBI/CARD identity, structure, roles, class, retained FDA status, and the provenance of 87 CARD resistance assertions; curator-confirmed protein-synthesis inhibition and added the directly bound E. coli 50S target.
-
CURATED_CAUSAL_GRAPH
Added a PMID-supported causal graph for chloramphenicol binding to the bacterial 50S peptidyl-transferase center.
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
CURATED_RESISTANT_TAXA
Added one stable-URL CDC/FDA AR Isolate Bank chloramphenicol-resistant Enterococcus faecalis isolate MIC observation.
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CURATED_RESISTANT_TAXA
Added one stable-URL CDC/FDA AR Isolate Bank Panel 10 chloramphenicol-resistant Enterococcus faecalis activity observation for AR-0780.
-
STRUCTURED_ACTIVITY_BIOSAMPLE_ACCESSIONS
Structured BioSample accessions on 1 activity_spectrum observation(s) where evidence notes already named exactly one accession.
-
CURATED_RESISTANCE_EVIDENCE
Added native SOF-1 CMLA6/chloramphenicol co-occurrence from primary results, without assigning individual causation, an exact experimental UniProt protein, allele or genome. Preserved source-owned assertions and all other fields; whole-record review remains open.
-
CURATED_RESISTANCE_EVIDENCE
Added four named native flo co-occurrences and one separate flo/cmlA-positive subgroup association from primary results. Kept mechanism UNKNOWN and UniProt/archive context reference-only; did not assign exact alleles, genomes, a subgroup strain or new clinical breakpoints. Preserved all prior claims, observations, history and other fields; whole-record review remains open.