polymyxin

pol·y·myx·in  (pl-mksn)

n.

Any of various mainly toxic antibiotics derived from strains of the soil bacterium Bacillus polymyxa and used to treat various infections with gram-negative bacteria.

---

[New Latin polymyxa, specific epithet (poly- + Greek muxa, slime) + -in.]

---

polymyxin [ˌpɒlɪˈmɪksɪn]

n

(Medicine / Pharmacology) any of several polypeptide antibiotics active against Gram-negative bacteria, obtained from the soil bacterium Bacillus polymyxa

[from New Latin Bacillus polymyxa; see poly-, myxo-, -in]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

polymyxin - any of several toxic antibiotics obtained from a particular soil bacterium antibiotic, antibiotic drug - a chemical substance derivable from a mold or bacterium that can kill microorganisms and cure bacterial infections; "when antibiotics were first discovered they were called wonder drugs"