Chemical Methods for the Construction of Spirocyclic β-Lactams and Their Biological Importance

Spirocyclic β-lactams are a family of natural and synthetic chemicals with different biological activities, including antibacterial properties, and interact with critical physiological targets such as T-type calcium channels and acetyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase. Their unique chemical structure, combining a spiro ring system with a β-lactam group, offers promising opportunities for the targeted discovery of medications in medicinal chemistry. Spirocyclic β-lactams have the potential to be adaptable frameworks for developing novel therapeutic medicines with particular three-dimensional pharmacophoric characteristics and increased biological efficacy. Numerous methods are employed for the synthesis of spirocyclic β-lactams, such as cyclization, functional group modifications, asymmetric synthesis utilizing chiral catalysts and biomimetic approaches. In this short review, two distinct approaches describing recent syntheses of spirocyclic β-lactams (from 2021 to 2024) are discussed. The first is based on constructing the β-lactam ring, while the other entails transforming monocyclic β-lactams into spirocyclic structures. These methods include detailed reaction processes and descriptions of the biological functions of the target spirocycles. The applications of spirocyclic β-lactams in medicinal chemistry highlight their role in the synthesis of structurally diverse compounds with significant therapeutic potential, demonstrating creative chemical methods for building complex molecular structures. 1 Introduction 2 β-Lactam Ring Synthesis 3 Non-β-Lactam Ring Synthesis 4 Miscellaneous Examples 5 Conclusion and Outlook