Πιστεύω ότι η σωστότερη απόδοση είναι το "β-lactam ring".
Έτσι το συνάντησα σε παλαιότερη μετάφραση που έκανα για την αμοξυκιλλίνη.

Κάνε μια αναζήτηση στο Διαδίκτυο για το "β-lactam ring" και θα βρεις πολλές πηγές.


**β-Lactam** is an enchanted ring which has received enormous attention las t one-half a century as being an essential structural constituent of th erapeutically invaluable antibiotics such as penicillins and cephalospo rins. These antibiotics are known to manifest their antimicrobial acti vity via inhibition of the enzymic activity of D-alanyl-D-alanine transpeptidase which plays a critical role in the process o f bacterial cell wall formation.^{1,2} This enzyme inactivating property i s attributed to the β-lactam ring present in the antibiotic molecules.^{1,2} However, wide spread uses of these antibiotics have led to emergenc es of resistant strains. These resistant bacterial strains produce enzymes (β-lactamases) which catalyze the hydrolysis of β-lactam moiety in the antibio tics, thus rendering them to be ineffective as antibacterials.^{3} Recent ly, β-lactam derivatives have also been studied as inhibitors of human leukocyte elastase whose aberrant activity is implicated to causes seve ral pulmonary diseases such as emphysema and cystic fibrocis.^{4}
http://journal.kcsnet.or.kr/publi/bul/bu96n1/bu96n1t11.html


β-lactam antibiotics like penicillins and cephalosporins are the most frequently used drugs for the treatment of serious bacterial infections. β-lactamase production is the major mechanism of bacterial resistance to β-lactams. These enzymes hydrolyse the **β-lactam ring** and hence inactivate the antibiotics before they reach their target site, the penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs). Gram-negative bacteria produce the β-lactamase either constitutivly or after induction by β-lactam antibiotics.>>
http://www.ifmb.uni-bonn.de/wiedemann2e.htm

Many antibiotics from the cephalosporin and penicillin family contain a **β-lactam ring**. Some of these are produced directly by fermentation, but other sub-families including the carbapenems are produced by total synthesis. Because total synthesis is extremely expensive, the production costs have a significant impact on price and this limits the use of antibiotics produced in this manner.
http://www.isis-innovation.com/licensing/1167.html

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Note added at 2004-04-14 12:33:14 (GMT)
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β-Lactam-Antibiotica, -tika

engl.: β-lactam antibiotics

die Synthese der Bakterien-Zellwand hemmende Stoffe mit einem **β-Lactam-Ring**, der die antimikrobielle Aktivität bewirkt; Vertreter: Penicilline (dort Formel), Cephalosporine, Carbapeneme u. Monobactame.

http://www.gesundheit.de/roche/ro20000/r21481.html