NCIt definition : The sodium salt of indanyl carbenicillin, a broad-spectrum, semi-synthetic carboxypenicillin
antibiotic with bactericidal activity. Carbenicillin acylates C-terminal domain of
penicillin-sensitive transpeptidase, resulting in opening the lactam ring of the antibiotic.
This inactivation prevents the formation of the cross-linkage of peptidoglycan strands,
thereby inhibiting the third and last stage of bacterial cell wall synthesis. As a
result, cell wall integrity is compromised and cell lysis may follow. This agent is
used mainly for gram-negative infections, and has limited gram-positive coverage.;