Exploring the World of ß-Lactamase Inhibitors: Progress and Outlook

Abstract

With the increased prevalence of gram-negative bacterial infections, for which there are some effective therapies, the significance of hydrolyzing β-lactamase enzymes is also rising in certain significant clinical issues. Since the arrival of antibiotics, antibiotics of β-lactams are regarded as the highly effective antimicrobial agent. The primary pathway responsible for acquired β-lactam resistance in Gram-negative organisms is β-lactamase synthesis. Four different classes, i.e., A, B, C, and D, of β-lactamases have been explained. Enzymes of class B can also be called metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) because they need a metal cofactor (for example, zinc in its natural form) to function. A, C, and D classes comprise of serine component as an activated center which catalyze the β-lactam ring hydrolysis via acyl-intermediate of serine. This chapter constitutes the knowledge of class A to D and brief about some of the β-lactamase inhibitors with their action mechanism.