Tag: Beta lactam ring

The life-saving properties of penicillin, discovered in 1928, are rooted in a single, highly reactive four-membered ring at its core. This foundational component is central to understanding what is the importance of the beta-lactam ring in penicillin's function as an antibiotic.

Over half of all commercially available antibiotics in use in 2003 were beta-lactam compounds. But **why are they called beta-lactams**? The answer lies in the unique four-membered ring structure at the core of these life-saving drugs.