Inhibitors of metallo-β-lactamases

The β-lactams are the most successful class of antibiotic drugs but they are vulnerable to inactivation by a growing cadre of β-lactamases that now number more than a thousand variants. β-Lactamases operate by one of two general chemical mechanisms either catalyzing β-lactam ring hydrolysis via a covalent enzyme intermediate through the aegis of an active site serine residue or through a noncovalent Zn-dependent mechanism. The Ser-β-lactamases …