[Possibility of drug design of beta-lactam antibiotics effective for multiresistant gram-positive pathogens]

Since infectious diseases are caused by various bacteria and most of them are treated empirically, broad-spectrum antibiotics are required. To expand the spectrum, an imidazopyridazinium group and aminothiadiazole group were introduced to 3- and 7-side chain of cephem nucleus, respectively. The resulting compound, cefozopran, was able to permeate not only outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa but also envelope of gram-positive bacteria, which functioned as a barrier to antipseudomonal cephalosporins, and showed potent activity against wide variety of bacteria including those which produced a large amount of cephalosporinase and were resistant to third-generation cephalosporins. In spite of the broad antibacterial spectrum, cefozopran only weakly affected gastrointestinal flora of mice and prevented colonization by MRSA.