With lactam rings

APA may be either obtained directly from special Penicillium strains or by hydrolysis of penicillin Q with the aid of amidase enzymes. A major problem in the synthesis of different amides from 6-APA is the acid- and base-sensitivity of its -lactam ring which is usually very unstable outside of the pH range from 3 to 6. One synthesis of ampidllin applies the condensation of 6-APA with a mixed anhydride of N-protected phenylglydne. Catalytic hydrogenation removes the N-protecting group. Yields are low (2 30%) (without scheme). 

In his cephalosporin synthesis methyl levulinate was condensed with cysteine in acidic medium to give a bicyclic thiazolidine. One may rationalize the regioselective formation of this bicycle with the assumption that in the acidic reaction mixture the tMoI group is the only nucleophile present, which can add to the ketone. Intramolecular amide formation from the methyl ester and acid-catalyzed dehydration would then lead to the thiazolidine and y-lactam rings. The stereochemistry at the carboxylic acid a-... 

As with isolated rings, individual heterorings in fused systems which are synthetic equivalents of acyclic subunits, e.g. lactone, ketal, lactam, and hemiketal, can be disconnected. 

Nylon 6 is produced by the polymerization of caprolactam. The monomer is first mixed with water, which opens the lactam ring and gives w-amino acid ... 

The biological activity of penicillins and cephalosporins is due to the presence of the strained /3-lactam ring, which reacts with and deactivates the transpeptidase enzyme needed to synthesize and repair bacterial cell walls. With the wall either incomplete or weakened, the bacterial cell ruptures and dies. 

The Lewis acid induced reaction of silyl enol ethers and silyl ketene (thio)acetals with 4-acetoxyazetidinones is often used for introduction of a carbon substituent in the 4-position of the jS-lactam ring. Numerous examples are known, both with and without substituents at nitrogen, some of which are shown. 

An example for proteases are the (3-lactamases that hydrolyse a peptide bond in the essential (3-lactam ring of penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems and monobac-tams and, thereby, iireversibly inactivate the diug. 13-lactamases share this mechanism with the penicillin binding proteins (PBPs), which are essential enzymes catalyzing the biosynthesis of the bacterial cell wall. In contrast to the PBPs which irreversibly bind (3-lactams to the active site serine, the analogous complex of the diug with (3-lactamases is rapidly hydrolyzed regenerating the enzyme for inactivation of additional (3-lactam molecules. 

P-Lactamases are enzymes that hydrolyze the P-lactam ring of P-lactamantibiotics (penicillins, cephalosporins, monobactams and carbapenems). They are the most common cause of P-lactam resistance. Most enzymes use a serine residue in the active site that attacks the P-lactam-amid carbonyl group. The covalently formed acylester is then hydrolyzed to reactivate the P-lacta-mase and liberates the inactivated antibiotic. Metallo P-lactamases use Zn(II) bound water for hydrolysis of the P-lactam bond. P-Lactamases constitute a heterogeneous group of enzymes with differences in molecular structures, in substrate preferences and in the genetic localizations of the encoding gene (Table 1). 

Shao reported the microwave-assisted hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction of a series of acetylenic pyrimidines to introduce a fused lactone/lactam ring, with no degradation of either reactants or products typical for the harsh thermal conditions (150-190°C, 15-144h) [131]. In contrast to the results reported when conventional heating was applied, the Diels-Alder cycloaddition under microwave irradiation gave a high yield of the desired fused lactones or lactams [132]. This reaction provided a practical and general method for the preparation of fused bicyclic pyridines 205 (Scheme 74). 

Radical cyclization is compatible with the presence of other functional groups. Treatment of XCH2CON(R)-C(R )=CH2 derivatives (X = Cl, Br, 1) with Ph3SnH and AIBN led to formation of a lactam via radical cyclization. " Cyclization of N-iodoethyl-5-vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone led to the corresponding bicyclic lactam, " and there are other examples of radical cyclization with molecules containing a lactam unit " or an amide unit. Radical cyclization occurs with enamines as well. Photochemical irradiation of A,A-dialIyl acrylamide leads to formation of a lactam ring, and in this case thiophenol was added to generate the phenylthio derivative. Phenylseleno N-allylamines lead to cyclic amines. co-Iodo acrylate esters cyclize to form lactones. " ... 

A comparison of the structures of penicillin and Dalanyl-Dalanine (cf. structures 41 and 42) shows that there is a great deal of similarity between the two molecules. Penicillin is essentially an acylated cyclic dipeptide of Dcysteine and Dvaline (84). As such, it contains a peptide bond, that of the /3-lactam ring, that can acylate the enzyme. Labeling studies of the peptidoglycan transpeptidase of Bacillus subtilis indicate that radioactive penicillin reacts with a sulfhydryl group of a cysteine residue of the enzyme (86). 

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