Small molecule
PubChem CID 2764
Ciprofloxacin
Cipro
- Mechanism of action
- Fluoroquinolone, inhibits DNA gyrase / topoisomerase IV
- In plain language
- Jams the molecular machinery bacteria need to copy their DNA, so they can't multiply and die off.
- How it works
- Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone that inhibits two bacterial type II topoisomerase enzymes, DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV, which are essential for supercoiling, replicating, repairing, and segregating bacterial DNA. By binding these enzyme-DNA complexes, ciprofloxacin blocks DNA strand resealing and traps double-strand breaks, halting replication and transcription. This action is bactericidal, rapidly killing susceptible gram-negative and select gram-positive organisms. Because bacterial topoisomerases differ structurally from human counterparts, the drug achieves selective antibacterial activity at therapeutic doses.
- Therapeutic applications
- FDA-indicated for susceptible bacterial infections including complicated and uncomplicated urinary tract infections, chronic bacterial prostatitis, lower respiratory tract infections, acute sinusitis, skin and skin-structure infections, bone and joint infections, complicated intra-abdominal infections (with metronidazole), infectious diarrhea, typhoid fever, uncomplicated gonorrhea, and for inhalational anthrax post-exposure prophylaxis and plague. Reserved for cases with no alternative treatment options for acute sinusitis, acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, and uncomplicated UTI due to serious adverse reaction risk (boxed warning).
- Class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Antibiotic
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