Resistance and Cross Resistance of Bacteria to Nitrofurans

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Abstract
(1) Bacteria can develop only a limited resistance to the nitrofurans in vitro. On the basis of a bacterial cross resistance study of a series of eighteen nitrofurans, it was found that the compounds investigated could be divided into two classes. The second class differs in chemical structure by having a carbon atom between the carbonyl group and the terminal group of the nitrofuran side-chain. Bacteria becoming resistant to the first class are reciprocally cross resistant to all members of this class but remain susceptible to nitrofurans of the second class. (2)Bacteria in which resistance was developed to chloramphenicol or to aureomycin remain susceptible to the nitrofurans. The converse is also true.