Selective Synthesis ofβ-Lactams via Catalytic Metal Carbene C-H Insertion Reactions

β-Lactam, with its unique four-membered ring structure, is an irreplaceable motif in antibacterial medicines, and the diversity synthesis of monocyclic β-lactam becomes a very effective approach for the discovery of new pharmacological properties and bioactivities. During the last few decades, efforts have been spent on the chemical synthesis of β-lactams, including approaches via metal catalysis and organocatalysis. In this review, progresses in catalytic intramolecular metal carbene insertion reaction for the β-lactams structure construction during the last two decades are demonstrated, which emphasize the chemo-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity advances in these transformations of diazo compounds with structural diversity. And a few of selected initial researches led to significant advances are also mentioned in this article.