Tazobactam is a

pharmaceutical drug A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field an ...

that inhibits the action of bacterial β-lactamases, especially those belonging to the SHV-1 and

TEM Tem or TEM may refer to: Acronyms * Threat and error management, an aviation safety management model. * Telecom Expense Management * Telecom Equipment Manufacturer * TEM (currency), local to Volos, Greece * TEM (nuclear propulsion), a Russian ...

groups. It is commonly used as its sodium

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

, tazobactam sodium. In simple terms, it is an ingredient that can be added to certain antibiotics to make them less vulnerable to bacteria's

antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials. All classes of microbes can evolve resistance. Fungi evolve antifungal resistance. Viruses evolve antiviral resistance. P ...

. Tazobactam is combined with the extended spectrum β-lactam antibiotic

piperacillin Piperacillin is a broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotic of the ureidopenicillin class. The chemical structure of piperacillin and other ureidopenicillins incorporates a polar side chain that enhances penetration into Gram-negative bacteria and red ...

in the drug

piperacillin/tazobactam Piperacillin/tazobactam, sold under the brand name Zosyn among others, is a combination medication containing the antibiotic piperacillin and the β-lactamase inhibitor Beta-lactamases, (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteri ...

, used in infections due to ''

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aerug ...

''. Tazobactam broadens the spectrum of piperacillin by making it effective against organisms that express

β-lactamase Beta-lactamases, (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteria that provide multi-resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, cephamycins, monobactams and carbapenems ( ertapenem), although carbapenems ...

and would normally degrade piperacillin. Tazobactam is a heavily modified penicillin and a

sulfone In organic chemistry, a sulfone is a organosulfur compound containing a sulfonyl () functional group attached to two carbon atoms. The central hexavalent sulfur atom is double-bonded to each of two oxygen atoms and has a single bond to each of ...

. Tazobactam was patented in 1982 and came into medical use in 1992.

References

Antibiotics Beta-lactam antibiotics Beta-lactamase inhibitors Sulfones Triazoles {{antibiotic-stub

See also

References