title: Do inert beta-lactamase inhibitors act as synergizers of beta-lactam antibiotics? Utility of boric and boronic acids.
abstract: Boric and boronic acids were used as inhibitors of beta-lactamases produced by two Citrobacter diversus strains and by one strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; all strains were clinical isolates. The beta-lactamases produced by the two Citrobacter diversus strains were inhibited by both borates and boronates, using cephazolin as substrate. The enzyme from Pseudomonas aeruginosa was inhibited only by boronates, using benzylpenicillin as substrate. These inhibitors were also used in combination with selected beta-lactams so as to determine if a synergism of antimicrobial activity occurred. All data reported in the present paper indicate that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were lowered in the presence of these inhibitors for the two Citrobacter diversus strains. In the Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains the MIC values were not significantly altered, thus indicating the presence of a permeability barrier for 3-aminophenylboronic acid.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biomediche e di Biometria, Università degli Studi dell'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Amicosante
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Felici
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Segatore
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: di Marzio
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Franceschini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: di Girolamo
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001888:Boric Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001897:Boronic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002954:Citrobacter / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D047090:beta-Lactams
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001888:Boric Acids; D001897:Boronic Acids; D047090:beta-Lactams; D001618:beta-Lactamases