Eliciting Antigenicities of Benzylpenicillin, Ampicillin and Carbenicillin Preparations Examined with the Reagin-Mediated Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis System

Abstract

Six commercially available ampicillin preparations, as well as nine commercial benzylpenicillin preparations, were found to be capable of eliciting homologous PCA reactions in guinea pigs sensitized with anti-benzylpenicilloyl (anti-BPO) reagmic sera. There were variations in potencies to evoke the PCA reactions among these penicillin preparations. Carbenicillin preparations gave no or very weak PCA reactions. PCA reactions with chromatographic fractions of the ampicillin preparations were elicited with fractions eluted earlier than the main peak but not with fractions supposedly containing the bulk of the ampicillin. These results strongly suggest that the antigenicities of the macromolecular impurities in benzylpenicillin and ampicillin preparations relating to the BPO determinant should be examined by the anti-BPO reagin-mediated PCA system and that there are variations in potencies to evoke the allergic reactions among commercial benzylpenicillins and among aminobenzylpenicillins.