This product is a polypeptide complex that has an inhibitory effect on Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The mechanism is not clear yet, but it may be related to the inhibition of bacterial protein synthesis. Bacteria are prone to develop drug resistance when used alone. This product has incomplete cross-resistance with kanamycin and puromycin.

Kanamycin sulfate is an aminoglycoside antibiotic. This product has good antibacterial effects on most Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Proteus, Shigella, Salmonella, Citrobacter, Providencia, Yersinia, etc.; Haemophilus influenzae, Brucella, Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, etc. are also mostly sensitive to this product. Kanamycin also has a certain effect on Staphylococcus (methicillin-sensitive strains) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but is ineffective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Other Gram-positive bacteria such as hemolytic streptococci, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococcus and anaerobic bacteria are mostly resistant to this product. In recent years, the number of resistant strains has increased significantly, because some bacteria produce aminoglycoside inactivating enzymes, which make them lose their antibacterial activity. Kanamycin has complete cross-resistance with streptomycin and neomycin, and may have partial cross-resistance with other aminoglycosides. This product mainly binds to the bacterial ribosome 30S subunit and inhibits bacterial protein synthesis.