Amphotericin B (Fungilin, Fungizone, Abelcet, AmBisome, Fungisome, Amphocil, Amphotec) is a polyene antifungal drug , often used intravenously for systemic fungal infections . It was originally extracted from Streptomyces nodosus , a filamentous bacterium , in 1955 at the Squibb Institute for Medical Research from cultures of an undescribed streptomycete isolated from the soil collected in the Orinoco River region of Venezuela . more

Amphotericin B (Fungilin, Fungizone, Abelcet, AmBisome, Fungisome, Amphocil, Amphotec) is a polyene antifungal drug , often used intravenously for systemic fungal infections . It was originally extracted from Streptomyces nodosus , a filamentous bacterium , in 1955 at the Squibb Institute for Medical Research from cultures of an undescribed streptomycete isolated from the soil collected in the Orinoco River region of Venezuela . Its name originates from the chemical's amphoteric properties. Two amphotericins, Amphotericin A and Amphotericin B are known, but only B is used clinically because it is significantly more active in vivo . Currently the drug is available as plain Amphotericin B, as cholesteryl sulfate complex, as lipid complex, and as liposomal formulation. The latter formulations have been developed to improve tolerability for the patient but may show considerably different pharmacokinetic characteristics compared to plain Amphotericin B. less