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[[Image:Lactams.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Core lactam structures.]]
{{Image|Lactams.jpg|right|200px|<small>Lactam structures.</small>}}
In chemistry, a '''lactam''' is a cyclic [[amide]].  The name is derived from two chemical terms, [[lactone]], referring to a cyclic ketone, and [[amide]], a compound containing a [[nitrogen]] atom next to a [[carbonyl]] group.  Lactams are named according to the size of the cyclic ring in the lactam: <math>\alpha</math>-lactams, <math>\beta</math>-lactams, <math>\gamma</math>-lactams and <math>\delta</math>-lactams contain rings made of three, four, five or six atoms, respectively.  <math>\alpha</math>-lactams are also called aziridinones.  Many widely used antibiotic drugs, including the[[penicillin]]s and [[cephalosporin]]s, owe their activity to the presence of a <math>\beta</math>-lactam structure. The lactams may have substitutions added to the nitrogen atom or any of the non-carbonyl carbon atoms in the base structure.
In chemistry, a '''lactam''' is a cyclic [[amide]].  The name is derived from two chemical terms, [[lactone]], referring to a cyclic ketone, and [[amide]], a compound containing a [[nitrogen]] atom next to a [[carbonyl]] group.  Lactams are named according to the size of the cyclic ring in the lactam: <math>\alpha</math>-lactams, <math>\beta</math>-lactams, <math>\gamma</math>-lactams and <math>\delta</math>-lactams contain rings made of three, four, five or six atoms, respectively.  <math>\alpha</math>-lactams are also called aziridinones.  Many widely used antibiotic drugs, including the [[penicillin]]s and [[cephalosporin]]s, owe their activity to the presence of a <math>\beta</math>-lactam structure. The lactams may have substitutions added to the nitrogen atom or any of the non-carbonyl carbon atoms in the base structure.
 
== Synthesis of lactams ==
 
=== Synthesis of alpha-lactams ===
{{Image|Alpha lactam synthesis.jpg|right|400px|<small>A general purpose alpha-lactam synthesis</small>}}
The cyclization reaction of an <math>\alpha</math>-haloamide precuror in the presence of [[sodium hydride]] and [[15-crown-5 ether]] at room temperature in [[dichloromethane]] (CH<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>2</sub>) is a high-yielding, general route to <math>\alpha</math>-lactam (aziridinone) products.  The hydrogen gas and sodium halide by-products are readily removed.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Synthesis|author=V. Cesare, T. M. Lyons and I. Lengyel|year=2002|volume=2002|pages=1716-1720|title=A High-Yielding General Synthesis of α-Lactams}}</ref>
 
== Antibiotics ==
{{Image|Cephalosporin base.jpg|right|200px|<small>Base structure of all cephalosporins.</small>}}
 
The <math>\beta</math>-lactam forms the center structure of many antibiotic drugs, such as the [[cephalosporin]]s and the [[penicillin]]s, as shown above.  In the penicillins, the non-lactam ring is one atom smaller compared to the cephalosporins.  The activity of cephalosporins, penicillins, and some other antibiotics are due to the presence of the beta-lactam, which binds irreversibly, via acylation, to penicillin-binding proteins, thereby inhibiting the peptidogycan layer of bacterial cell wall synthesis. Cephalosporins and penicillins are often made semi-synthetically, using a core structure obtained from a natural organism, such as a fungus, due to the difficulty and expense of synthesizing these lactams.
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
 
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(CC) Image: David E. Volk
Lactam structures.

In chemistry, a lactam is a cyclic amide. The name is derived from two chemical terms, lactone, referring to a cyclic ketone, and amide, a compound containing a nitrogen atom next to a carbonyl group. Lactams are named according to the size of the cyclic ring in the lactam: -lactams, -lactams, -lactams and -lactams contain rings made of three, four, five or six atoms, respectively. -lactams are also called aziridinones. Many widely used antibiotic drugs, including the penicillins and cephalosporins, owe their activity to the presence of a -lactam structure. The lactams may have substitutions added to the nitrogen atom or any of the non-carbonyl carbon atoms in the base structure.

Synthesis of lactams

Synthesis of alpha-lactams

(CC) Image: David E. Volk
A general purpose alpha-lactam synthesis

The cyclization reaction of an -haloamide precuror in the presence of sodium hydride and 15-crown-5 ether at room temperature in dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) is a high-yielding, general route to -lactam (aziridinone) products. The hydrogen gas and sodium halide by-products are readily removed.[1]

Antibiotics

(CC) Image: David E. Volk
Base structure of all cephalosporins.

The -lactam forms the center structure of many antibiotic drugs, such as the cephalosporins and the penicillins, as shown above. In the penicillins, the non-lactam ring is one atom smaller compared to the cephalosporins. The activity of cephalosporins, penicillins, and some other antibiotics are due to the presence of the beta-lactam, which binds irreversibly, via acylation, to penicillin-binding proteins, thereby inhibiting the peptidogycan layer of bacterial cell wall synthesis. Cephalosporins and penicillins are often made semi-synthetically, using a core structure obtained from a natural organism, such as a fungus, due to the difficulty and expense of synthesizing these lactams.

References

  1. V. Cesare, T. M. Lyons and I. Lengyel (2002). "A High-Yielding General Synthesis of α-Lactams". Synthesis 2002: 1716-1720.