title: Photophysics and photochemistry of fluoroquinolones.
abstract: The photobehavior of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, one of the most successful classes of drugs in therapeutic applications, has recently been the object of increasing interest due to the finding of their phototoxic and photocarcinogenic properties. The main results obtained for a series of structurally related, representative fluoroquinolone drugs is reviewed. Both activation of oxygen and various degradation pathways have been identified and the effects of medium and structure have been rationalized. The results can help in the understanding of the photochemistry occurring in biological environments and in the assessing of the correlation between structural characteristics and biological photodamage.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Organica, Università di Pavia, Viale Taramelli 10, I-27100, Italy. albini@chifis.unipv.it
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Albini
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monti
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D003653:Decarboxylation; D004579:Electron Transport; D004583:Electrons; D005453:Fluorescence; D005461:Fluorine / Q000737:chemistry; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007477:Ions; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010777:Photochemistry; D011522:Protons; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000737:chemistry; D026082:Singlet Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D013481:Superoxides / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D007477:Ions; D011522:Protons; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013481:Superoxides; D026082:Singlet Oxygen; D005461:Fluorine