β-lactam<unk> <unk>  are<unk>  that contain a<unk><unk>  ring in their chemical structure. This includes penicillin derivatives (penams), cephalosporins and cephamycins (cephems), monobactams, carbapenems and carbacephems. Most β-lactam<unk>  work by inhibiting cell wall biosynthesis in the bacterial organism and are the most widely used group of<unk> . Until 2003, when measured by sales, more than half of all commercially available<unk>  in use were β-lactam compounds. The first β-lactam<unk> discovered, penicillin, was isolated from a strain of Penicillium rubens (named as Penicillium notatum at the time). Bacteria often develop resistance to β-lactam<unk>  by synthesizing a β-lactamase, an enzyme that attacks the β-lactam ring. To overcome this resistance, β-lactam<unk>  can be given with β-lactamase inhibitors such as clavulanic acid.
Beta-lactam antibiotics
Quinolone antibiotic
Steroid
Antiarthritics
Broad-spectrum antibiotic
Antibiotic
Lipase inhibitors
Polypeptide antibiotic