Photophysics and photochemistry of fluoroquinolones

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.