A rapid procedure to prepare cefotaxime

Design, synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of low toxicity amphiphilic-cephalosporin derivatives

Global public health is facing a serious problem as a result of the rise in antibiotic resistance and the decline in the discovery of new antibiotics. In this study, two series of amphiphilic-cephalosporins were designed and synthesized, several of which showed good antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Structure-activity relationships indicated that the length of the hydrophobic alkyl chain significantly affects the antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria. The best compound 2d showed high activity against drug-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with MICs of 0.5 and 2-4 μg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, 2d remained active in complex mammalian body fluids and had a longer post-antibiotic effect (PAE) than vancomycin. Mechanism studies indicated that compound 2d lacks membrane-damaging properties and can target penicillin-binding proteins to disrupt bacterial cell wall structure, inhibit the metabolic activity and induce the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in bacteria. Compound 2d showed minimal drug resistance and was nontoxic to HUVEC and HBZY-1 cells with CC50 > 128 μg/mL. These findings suggest that 2d is a promising drug candidate for treating bacterial infections.

Voltammetry Determination of Cefotaxime on Zinc Oxide Nanorod Modified Electrode

Background:

The Glassy Carbon Electrode (GCE) was modified with zinc oxide nanoparticles to enhance the electrocatalytic activity of the redox behavior of cefotaxime ion. ATOMIC Force Microscopy (AFM) photographic studies showed the nanorod like structure of the zinc oxide, which was coated uniformly on the electrode surface.

Methods:

The zinc oxide nanorod modified electrode was used as novel voltammetric determination of cefotaxime. The results of voltammetric behavior are satisfactory in the electro oxidation of cefotaxime, and exhibit considerable improvement compared to glassy carbon electrode.

Results:

Under the optimized experimental conditions, the ZnO nanorod modified electrode exhibit better linear dynamic range from 300 ppb to 700 ppb with lower limit of detection 200 ppb for the stripping voltammetric determination of cefotaxime.

Conclusion:

The pharmaceutical and clinical formulation of cefotaxime was successfully applied for accurate determination of trace amounts on ZnO nanomateials modified electrode.

Biosynthetic Incorporation of Site-Specific Isotopes in β-Lactam Antibiotics Enables Biophysical Studies

A biophysical understanding of the mechanistic, chemical, and physical origins underlying antibiotic action and resistance is vital to the discovery of novel therapeutics and the development of strategies to combat the growing emergence of antibiotic resistance. The site-specific introduction of stable-isotope labels into chemically complex natural products is particularly important for techniques such as NMR, IR, mass spectrometry, imaging, and kinetic isotope effects. Toward this goal, we developed a biosynthetic strategy for the site-specific incorporation of ¹³C labels into the canonical β-lactam carbonyl of penicillin G and cefotaxime, the latter via cephalosporin C. This was achieved through sulfur-replacement with 1-¹³C-l-cysteine, resulting in high isotope incorporations and milligram-scale yields. Using ¹³C NMR and isotope-edited IR difference spectroscopy, we illustrate how these molecules can be used to interrogate interactions with their protein targets, e.g., TEM-1 β-lactamase. This method provides a feasible route to isotopically labeled penicillin and cephalosporin precursors for future biophysical studies.

13C NMR spectroscopy of some third-generation cephalosporins, their synthetic intermediaries and reaction byproducts

(13)C NMR spectroscopic data for 25 cephalosporin derivatives were assigned by combination of one- and two-dimensional experiments. The effect of the substitution at C-3, C-7 and C-4 acid group positions on the chemical shifts of the cephem nucleus is discussed.