KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY IMAGE: TOP: Β-LACTAM ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS RUPTURE BACTERIA BY DESTROYING THEIR CELL WALLS. BOTTOM: THE RED TEXT IN THE STRUCTURAL FORMULA REPRESENTS THE Β-LACTAM RING, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR BACTERICIDAL ACTION. CREDIT: PROFESSOR TOMOHIRO SAWA A joint research project based in Kumamoto University, Japan has developed a new, highly sensitive analytical method that can detect degraded β-lactam antibacterial...