beta-lactamase
noun
be·ta-lac·ta·mase
| \ ˈbā-tə-ˈlak-tə-ˌmās
, -ˌmāz\
, -ˌmāz\
Definition of beta-lactamase
: any of various bacterial enzymes that inactivate the penicillins and cephalsporins by hydrolyzing them
When confronted with an antibiotic, a number of disease-causing bacteria will retaliate by making an enzyme called beta-lactamase …— Diana Morgan and Terence Monmaney
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More Definitions for beta-lactamase
beta-lactamase
noun
be·ta-lac·ta·mase
variants:
also β-lactamase \ -ˈlak-tə-ˌmās, -ˌmāz
\
\
Medical Definition of beta-lactamase
: any of various bacterial enzymes that inactivate beta-lactam antibiotics (such as penicillin and cephalosporin) by hydrolyzing them
When confronted with an antibiotic, a number of disease-causing bacteria will retaliate by making an enzyme called beta-lactamase …— Diana Morgan and Terence Monmaney, Science, July/August 1985 The most common mechanism of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics is the bacterial production of an enzyme called β-lactamase, which breaks one of the antibiotic's chemical bonds, changing its structure and preventing it from inhibiting the enzyme transpeptidase.— K. C. Nicolaou et al., Scientific American, May 2001
Note: Beta-lactamase was originally used only to refer to bacterial enzymes that inactivated penicillin. As additional types of beta-lactam antibiotics were introduced, other bacterial beta-lactamases were identified.
— compare penicillinase