Kanamycin drug molecule. Ball-and-stick molecular model of kanamycin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic. It is used to treat severe bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis. It functions by blocking the synthesis of proteins required for bacterial survival. Its chemical formula is C18H36N4O11. Atoms are represented as spheres with conventional colour coding: hydrogen (white), carbon (black), oxygen (red), and nitrogen (blue).