N-Thiolated β-Lactams

N-Thiolated β-lactams are β-lactam compounds that have a sulfur substituent on the nitrogen center. They represent a broad and growing family of bioactive molecules. In this review we provide a summary of the known biological properties of the different classes of N-thiolated β-lactams, and the methods used to prepare them. Our discussion begins with the N-sulfonic acid derivatives, which include the well-known monobactam family of antibiotics, followed by the N-sulfonyl, N-sulfinyl, and N-sulfenyl β-lactams.