Carbapenem Antibiotics: Recent Update on Synthesis and Pharmacologi-cal Activities

Right from the breakthrough of carbapenems since 1976, many schemes on synthe-sis, structure-activity relationship (SAR), and biological activities have been carried out, and several carbapenems have been developed, including parentally active carbapenems like imipenem, doripenem, biapenem, meropenem, ertapenem, panipenem, razupenem, tomopenem, and cilastatin, whereas orally active carbapenems like GV-118819, GV-104326, CS-834, L-084, DZ-2640, CL 191, 121, L-646, 591, S-4661, ER-35768, MK-826. Prodrugs of carbapenem with increased bioavailability include temopenem, tebipenem, sanfetrinem, LK-157, and CP 5484. Merck, Glaxo Welcome Research Group, Johnson & Johnson, Sankyo Group and Dai-ichi Group, and Wyeth-Ayerst Group were among the businesses that produced carbapenems. In this review Witting reaction, Mitsunobu reaction, Dieckmann reaction, palladium-catalyzed hydro-genolysis, E. coli-based cloned synthesis, as well as biosynthetic enzymes such as carbapenem synthetase (carA), carboxymethylproline synthase (carB), carbapenem synthase (carC) are in-cluded. Carbapenems are biologically mainly active in the infections like urinary tract infec-tions, bloodstream infections, tuberculosis, intra-abdominal infections, and pathogens like an-aerobes, gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.