Talk:Beta-lactam

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"Augmentin is made of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid, both of which are beta-lactam antibiotics"

not true. clavulanic acid is used only as a beta lactamase inhibitor. On its own it is ineffective as an antibiotic. ~HolyMongoose

Actually - HolyMongoose, you are incorrect. Clavulanic acid is a very poor antibiotic that is ineffective at usable concentrations against most bacteria. However, it does have activity against some species, including some Acinetobacter species against which it is occasionally used intentionally (typically by giving 'Augmentin', because it is not normally available on its own). The fact that it inhibits beta lactamase activity through competitive binding is a second / additional feature which is primarily how this drug is exploited - but it does not mean that it ceases to technically be an antibiotic. ~ Nigel Saunders, University of Oxford, UK. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.67.82.28 (talk) 13:45, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

The clavulanic acid picture
Compared to the other molecular structures, clavulanic acid is viewed from the "other side". It would probably be more instructive to show a drawing where it has been rotated 180 degrees along the x axis, but maybe it is conventional to present it the way it is now? //130.238.41.140 (talk) 16:51, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Suggestion to limit this page to discussions of the moiety itself, not the antibiotics
A lot of the information on this page seems redundant, as it is covered more thoroughly at Beta-lactam antibiotics. I would suggest moving that information and merging it, leaving this page primarily for a discussion of the β-lactam functional group.

I'll wait a few days and then make this change myself if no one objects. Lhynard (talk) 16:28, 21 November 2011 (UTC)


 * No objections? I'll make the move. ~ Lhynard (talk) 16:22, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Nomenclature Query
"It is named as such because the nitrogen atom is attached to the β-carbon relative to the carbonyl." - Is this not at odds with the wiki page for lactams that states the greek suffix is to do with ring size? 144.32.72.220 (talk) 16:44, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * The ring size and the point of attachment are dependent on each other, so what may appear as two different ways of naming are really just one. ChemNerd (talk) 14:57, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
 * maybe it would be better to clarify that the ring size excludes the carbonyl carbon? I couldn't find a reliable source for this information, so I'm not going to edit it. however, there is this article https://www.quirkyscience.com/what-is-a-lactam/ Zoltrone2 (talk) 21:10, 18 July 2023 (UTC)

Prolonged treatment
10.1128/CMR.00022-16 JFW &#124; T@lk  08:38, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

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