Cephamycins are a group of β-lactam antibiotics. They are very similar to

cephalosporin The cephalosporins (sg. ) are a class of β-lactam antibiotics originally derived from the fungus '' Acremonium'', which was previously known as ''Cephalosporium''. Together with cephamycins, they constitute a subgroup of β-lactam antibio ...

s, and the cephamycins are sometimes classified as cephalosporins. Like cephalosporins, cephamycins are based upon the cephem nucleus. Unlike most cephalosporins, cephamycins are a very efficient antibiotic against anaerobic microbes. Cephamycins were originally produced by ''

Streptomyces ''Streptomyces'', from στρεπτός (''streptós''), meaning "twisted", and μύκης (''múkés''), meaning "fungus", is the largest genus of Actinomycetota, and the type genus of the family Streptomycetaceae. Over 700 species of ''St ...

'', but synthetic ones have been produced as well. Cephamycins possess a

methoxy In organic chemistry, a methoxy group is the functional group consisting of a methyl group bound to oxygen. This alkoxy group has the formula . On a benzene ring, the Hammett equation classifies a methoxy substituent at the ''para'' position a ...

group at the 7-alpha position. In addition, cephamycins have been shown to be stable against extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing organisms, although their use in clinical practice is lacking for this indication.

Examples

Cephamycins include: * Cefoxitin *

Cefotetan Cefotetan is an injectable antibiotic of the cephamycin type for prophylaxis and treatment of bacterial infections. It is often grouped together with second-generation cephalosporins and has a similar antibacterial spectrum, but with additional a ...

* Cefmetazole

References

Cephalosporin antibiotics {{antibiotic-stub