A carbapenam is the parent member of the β-lactams compounds. The parent is of only of theoretical interest, but substituted derivatives are important carbapenem antibiotics, originally inspired by the structure of

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...

. In penicillin, the five-membered ring contains sulfur, whereas carbapenams have a CH₂ in place of S. A related class of antibiotics are unsaturated

carbapenem Carbapenems are a class of very effective antibiotic agents most commonly used for treatment of severe bacterial infections. This class of antibiotics is usually reserved for known or suspected multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections. Si ...

s. Carbapenam-based antibiotics are widely used, but resistant strains of some pathogens have emerged.

References

Carbapenem antibiotics {{heterocyclic-stub