Fluoroquinolone [floorʺo-kwinʹo-lōn]
The first quinolone (quinol[ine] + -one [compound related to ketone]), nalidixic acid (Figure), was isolated as a byproduct of chloroquine (see “quinine”) synthesis and was introduced in 1962 to treat urinary tract infections. In 1980, researchers at the Kyorin Pharmaceutical Company showed that the addition of a fluorine atom to the quinolone ring resulted in an antibiotic with broader antimicrobial activity, which was named norfloxacin, the first fluoroquinolone. In 1983, Bayer published data that showed adding a single carbon atom to norfloxacin—what would become ciprofloxacin—further increased activity. Fluoroquinolones are today among the most frequently used antimicrobial drugs to treat infections in humans and animals.
Figure.
By Reubot, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14746558
Footnotes
Suggested citation for this article: Etymologia: Fluoroquinolone. Emerg Infect Dis 2017 May [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2305.ET2305
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