Penem

Not to be confused with penam.

A penem is a type of β-lactam with an unsaturated five-member heterocycle containing a sulfur atom in a pentacyclic ring fused to the β-lactam ring. Penems do not occur naturally; all are synthetic.[1] Related to penems are carbapenems, which have a carbon atom in place of the sulfur atom.[2]

An example is faropenem.[3]

  1. ^ Richard Wise (1990). "The carbapenems and Penem Antibiotics—a brief review". Antimicrobic Newsletter. 7 (10): 73–78. doi:10.1016/0738-1751(90)90045-E.
  2. ^ "Medscape.com".
  3. ^ Milazzo I, Blandino G, Caccamo F, Musumeci R, Nicoletti G, Speciale A (March 2003). "Faropenem, a new oral penem: antibacterial activity against selected anaerobic and fastidious periodontal isolates". Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 51 (3): 721–5. doi:10.1093/jac/dkg120. PMID 12615878.