Carbapenems are a class of beta-lactam antibiotics.
They have broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, being active against many aerobic and anaerobic gram-positive and gram-negative organisms.
Carbapenems inhibit bacterial cell wall synthesis by binding to the penicillin binding proteins and interfering with cell wall formation.
They are extremely resistant to beta-lactamase enzymes, making them very useful in treating bacterial infections where beta-lactamase is produced that makes other beta-lactam antibiotics ineffective.