An oxacephem is a

β-lactam A beta-lactam (β-lactam) ring is a four-membered lactam. A ''lactam'' is a cyclic amide, and ''beta''-lactams are named so because the nitrogen atom is attached to the Β carbon, β-carbon atom relative to the carbonyl. The simplest β-lactam p ...

molecule similar to a

cephem Cephems are a sub-group of β-lactam antibiotics including cephalosporins and cephamycin Cephamycins are a group of β-lactam antibiotics. They are very similar to cephalosporins, and the cephamycins are sometimes classified as cephalosporins ...

, but with an oxygen substituted for the sulfur. They are synthetic compounds not seen in nature, generally used as

β-lactam antibiotic β-lactam antibiotics (beta-lactam antibiotics) are antibiotics that contain a beta-lactam ring in their chemical structure. This includes penicillin derivatives (penams), cephalosporins and cephamycins (cephems), monobactams, carbapenems and ...

s. Examples include

Latamoxef Latamoxef (or moxalactam) is an oxacephem antibiotic usually grouped with the cephalosporins. In oxacephems such as latamoxef, the sulfur atom of the cephalosporin core is replaced with an oxygen atom. Latamoxef has been associated with prolo ...

and Flomoxef.

References

Antibiotics {{antibiotic-stub