Beta-lactams

Beta-lactams are an essential antibiotic drug class produced by both fermentation and synthetic methods. Their unique reactivity enables the generation of novel compounds for pharmaceutical applications.

Beta-lactams are an important class of compounds in biological and synthetic chemistry. They are commonly used as antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Beta-lactams work by inhibiting penicillin-binding proteins that are crucial for bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. Most beta-lactams are produced by fermentation or modification of fermented intermediates, except for carbapenems and aztreonam which require synthetic routes.

The reactivity of the beta-lactam ring has been widely studied, making it a useful substrate in synthetic organic chemistry. The ring can be opened through various reactions to generate new biologically relevant compounds. Efficient synthesis of new beta-lactams can be achieved from amidines using promoters like bismuth, indium, and copper salts. Diverse C4-N-substituted beta-lactams can also be prepared by nucleophilic reactions. A commonly used method in beta-lactam chemistry is the Ketene-Imine Staudinger Reaction.

Bibliography:

Zerong, Daniel, Wang. (2023). The Chemistry and Biology of Beta-Lactams.   doi: 10.1201/9781003330288

(2023). Enzymatic biosynthesis of β-lactam antibiotics.   doi: 10.1016/b978-0-443-19059-9.00007-4

Japheth, O., Ombito, and, Girija, S., Singh. (2019). Recent Progress in Chemistry of β-Lactams. Mini-reviews in Organic Chemistry,  doi: 10.2174/1570193X15666180914165303

Bimal, K., Banik., Alberto, Boretti. (2021). Hypotheses for synthesis of novel chiral beta-amino-beta-lactams through amidines.   doi: 10.1016/J.RECHEM.2021.100158

Rajneesh, Kaur., Divya, Tripathi., Kuldeep, Singh., Raman, Singh. (2018). Recent advances in β-lactam chemistry.  J. Integr. Sci. Technol., 2018, 6(2), 46-51

Adrian, Saura-Sanmartin., Laura, Andreu-Ardil. (2023). Stereoselective synthesis of β-lactams: recent examples.. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 21(16):3296-3306. doi: 10.1039/d3ob00309d