ABSTRACT
Aztreonam belongs to the class of beta-lactam antibiotics known as monobactams. Unlike penicillins and cephalosporins, the monobactams have only the beta-lactam ring, with the thiazolidine ring (characteristic of penicillins) and the dihydrothiazide ring (characteristic of cephalosporins) missing. In monobactams, a sulfonate group is present. In nature, monobactams are synthesized by bacteria. Aztreonam (3-aminothiazole-oxime, 4-alpha-methyl 1-monobactamic acid) is a synthetic member of this group, developed at the Squibb Institute for Medical Research. The antibacterial spectrum of this drug is not as wide as that of the third-generation cephalosporins, and it somewhat resembles that of the aminoglycosides, in that no clinically useful activity is present against Gram-positive or anaerobic organisms (Sykes et al., 1981; Sykes and Bonner, 1985). The molecular weight of aztreonam is 435.4 g/mol. The chemical structure of aztreonam is shown in Figure 35.1. Chemical structure of aztreonam. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315152110/08d8042d-9481-4a8d-8c27-9bd589f6de6b/content/fig35_1.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
