The future of the β-lactams

In the 80 years since their discovery the β-lactam antibiotics have progressed through structural generations, each in response to the progressive evolution of bacterial resistance mechanisms. The generational progression was driven by the ingenious, but largely empirical, manipulation of structure...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Llarrull, Leticia Irene, Testero, Sebastian Andres, Fisher, Jed F., Mobashery, Shahriar
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2010
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/133272
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/133272
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:b-lactams
PBP
b-Lactam-resistance
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:In the 80 years since their discovery the β-lactam antibiotics have progressed through structural generations, each in response to the progressive evolution of bacterial resistance mechanisms. The generational progression was driven by the ingenious, but largely empirical, manipulation of structure by medicinal chemists. Nonetheless, the true creative force in these efforts was Nature, and as the discovery of new β-lactams from Nature has atrophied while at the same time multi-resistant and opportunistic bacterial pathogens have burgeoned, the time for empirical drug discovery has passed. We concisely summarize recent developments with respect to bacterial resistance, the identity of the new β-lactams, and the emerging non-empirical strategies that will ensure that this incredible class of antibiotics has a future.