What is "echinocandin"

n. Any of a class of antifungal drugs that inhibit the synthesis of glucan in the fungal cell wall.

Echinocandins are a new class of antifungal drugs that inhibit the synthesis of glucan in the cell wall, via noncompetitive inhibition of the enzyme 1,3-β glucan synthase and are thus called "penicillin of antifungals" (a property shared with papulacandins) as penicillin has a similar mechanism against bacteria but not fungi. Beta glucans are carbohydrate polymers that are cross-linked with other fungal cell wall components (The bacterial equivalent is peptidoglycan). Caspofungin, micafungin, and anidulafungin are semisynthetic echinocandin derivatives with clinical use due to their solubility, antifungal spectrum, and pharmacokinetic properties.