H X 3V1S u u r y : 6aubstituted amino acids is reported uith applications in the area of oonobactam antibiotics.Access to optically active 3-and 3.4-aubstituted aretidinones and to k a group of medicinally important compounds, feu if any have corsnded the interest of synthetic organic chemists as the 6-lactam antibiotics.1 fascinating molecules which spans close to half a century, la adorned uith remarkable achievements and milestone discoveries on several frontier areas of science. Nature continues to produce novel types of highly bioactive 6-lactam type antibiotics, thus challenging the laboratory scientist in m n y disciplines. In response, the microbiologist. the chemist and other experts in related fields have joined forces in their quest to conquer these structures. vith the discovery of innovative isolation techniques and ingeneous synthetic strategies. Figure 1 illustrates the structures of several generations of naturally-occurring 6-lactam antibiotics.
The history of theseFigure 1 aivwic ACID w -c I N The penicillins and cephslosporins have been subjected to a relentless barrage of functional group and structural adificstion over the last several decades. Indeed. u c h novel chemistry h u emerged 6s s result of these s udies and the benefits to mankind have been enormous. With the discovery of thienamycin,' a ember of the carbapenem group of 6-lactam antibiotics, and an e t e m l y potent antibscterisl agent. an enormous potential for synthetic exploration emerged.'If Crest efforts have been M d e in chemical mdification in order to obtain more stable yet equally potent analogs. On a parallel front, ingeneous synthetic ochers have been devi ed which have culminated in a number of elegant syntheses of thienamycin and its analog^."^ Structurally-related, but stereochemic 11 different analogs have a 1 o been found in Nature as exemplified by the olivanic acidst : d the ssparenomycins. 9 R.U. Ratcliffe and C. Alkra-Schonkrg, in "Chemistry and Biology of 6-bctam Antibiotic#". R.M. Morin and M. -31 (1982); see also K. mano. Y. Kyotani. H. Ishiham, S. Kobagsshi and M. Ohno, J. Am. Chem. Soc.. 105. 7186-7187 (1983). I. Erneat, in "Chemistry and Biology of 6-bctam Antibiotics'. R.B. b r i n and M. G r M n . eds.Nature. 291, 489-491 (1981); see also A.I. Hada. K. Kitano. K. Kintaka, h r o i and M. k a i . Nature. 289, 590-591 (1981).