Beta-lactamase and carbapenemase detection methods: an overview of recent patents

Beta-lactam antibiotics constitute the agents most widely used against bacterial infections worldwide. Hence, the emergence and spread of beta-lactam hydrolyzing enzymes among pathogenic bacteria has proved to be one of the major medical issues especially when these enzymes inactivate carbapenems together with other beta-lactams. The prompt detection of beta-lactamases is important for therapeutic and epidemiological purposes therefore, various appropriate methodologies have been developed throughout the last decades. In the present overview, recent patents related to the detection of beta-lactamases and especially of carbapenemases are discussed.