Review

Analytical profile of the fluoroquinolone antibacterials. I. Ofloxacin

Henry A. Okeri¹* and Ikhuoria M. Arhewoh²

¹Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benin, P.M.B. 1154, Benin-City 300001, Nigeria.

²Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benin, P.M.B. 1154, Benin-City 300001, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: hokeri1@yahoo.com. or hokeri@uniben.edu. Tel: +234 8023112394 or +234 8060444600.

Accepted 30 January, 2008

In recent years, there has been rapid progress in quinolone research and development resulting in the production of many clinically important fluoroquinolones which have been subjected to diverse analytical or assay methods. This is the first review article in this series of the fluoroquinolone antibacterial agents with focus on the analytical profile of ofloxacin. Ofloxacin and indeed all the other fluoroquinolones are synthetic antibacterial agents structurally related to nalidixic acid. This article examines the synthesis, physico-chemical properties and analytical methods that have been used for the determination of ofloxacin in pharmaceutical dosages forms and biological fluids. The current relevant analytical trends and prospective analytical methods for ofloxacin have been presented and discussed.

Key words: Ofloxacin, fluoroquinolones, synthesis, physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, analytical methods, antibacterial.