Illustration of the drug avibactam (red) inhibiting the bacterial enzyme beta-lactamase (blue). Avibactam is given in conjunction with antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Beta-lactamase breaks down beta-lactam, an integral component of certain antibiotics, and as such can make bacteria resistant to these antibiotics. As avibactam inhibits beta-lactamase, it can disrupt this resistance. The molecular structure of avibactam (top left) is shown with atoms represented as spheres and colour-coded: carbon (grey), hydrogen (white), oxygen (red), hydrogen (blue) and sulphur (yellow).