pefloxacin
CHEBI:50199
·resolve ·ANTIBACTERIAL
·EXACT
SEEDED
A quinolone that is 4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline which is substituted at positions 1, 3, 6 and 7 by ethyl, carboxy, fluorine, and 4-methylpiperazin-1-yl groups, respectively. — ChEBI
Machine-generated and unreviewed. Identity, structure and
cross-references come straight from ChEBI's and CARD's own data; no curator has
signed off on this record yet.
Classification
fluoroquinolone antibioticARO:0000001
Strictly broader compounds or drug classes this molecule belongs to.
Chemical structure
Computed structure properties
| Molecular formula | C17H20FN3O3 |
|---|
| Charge | 0 |
|---|
| Average mass | 333.363 Da |
|---|
| Monoisotopic mass | 333.14887 Da |
|---|
| Source | ChEBI |
|---|
| InChIKey | FHFYDNQZQSQIAI-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
SMILES
CCn1cc(C(=O)O)c(=O)c2cc(F)c(N3CCN(C)CC3)cc21
InChI
InChI=1S/C17H20FN3O3/c1-3-20-10-12(17(23)24)16(22)11-8-13(18)15(9-14(11)20)21-6-4-19(2)5-7-21/h8-10H,3-7H2,1-2H3,(H,23,24)
Also called
- Labocton (BRAND_NAME)— chebi
- pefloxacino (INN)— chebi
- pefloxacinum (INN)— chebi
- 1-ethyl-6-fluoro-7-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
- PFLX (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
- Pefloxacine (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
- perfloxacin (EXACT_SYNONYM)— chebi
Cross-references
Equivalent identifiers for this same structure in other resources.
Activity roles
Every antimicrobial role a source asserts for this compound — the
unreduced evidence behind its antimicrobial_class.
Source concepts
Every upstream concept that resolved to this record. The merge is
the product: this is what shows ChEBI and CARD are describing the same structure.
Upstream concepts merged into this record
| Source | Native ID | Label | Minted CURIE | Version |
| ARO |
ARO:3000762 |
pefloxacin |
antibioticmech:aro-e4d6a66b1b |
2026-08-30 |
| CHEBI |
CHEBI:50199 |
pefloxacin |
antibioticmech:chebi-0c977bad4e |
2026-08-30 |
Molecular targets
The molecular entity or process this compound acts on. Each target
carries evidence — this is a mechanistic claim, not a classification.
fluoroquinolone sensitive gyrA PROTEIN DIRECT_BINDING_TARGET
ARO:3000733
CARD/ARO database assertion; target organism, strain, and assay are not specified. ARO explicitly describes ligand binding to gyrase subunit A. Evidence status: PRIMARY_EVIDENCE_NEEDED. Source: CARD_ARO 2026-08-30 (retrieved 2026-08-30).
- ARO:3000733 (CARD/ARO asserts targeted_by_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
Fluoroquinolone sensitive parC PROTEIN DIRECT_BINDING_TARGET
ARO:3000735
CARD/ARO database assertion; target organism, strain, and assay are not specified. ParC is asserted as the fluoroquinolone-sensitive subunit. Evidence status: PRIMARY_EVIDENCE_NEEDED. Source: CARD_ARO 2026-08-30 (retrieved 2026-08-30).
- ARO:3000735 (CARD/ARO asserts targeted_by_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
Mechanism summary
- Mode of action
- NUCLEIC_ACID_SYNTHESIS_INHIBITION microbial target — CURATOR: Confirmed as bacterial DNA gyrase inhibition after primary pefloxacin mechanism review. PMID:3010848.
Resistance mechanisms
22 known routes by which microbes
resist this compound, grounded in ARO where CARD models them. Grouped by mechanism
type — expand a group to see its determinants.
ANTIBIOTIC_TARGET_ALTERATION 22
ANTIBIOTIC_TARGET_ALTERATION
| Determinant | ARO ID | Organism | Gene families | Evidence |
| Acinetobacter baumannii gyrA conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003817 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003817 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Acinetobacter baumannii parC conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003818 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003818 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Bartonella bacilliformis gyrA conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003297 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003297 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Escherichia coli gyrA conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003294 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003294 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Escherichia coli parC conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003308 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003308 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Escherichia coli parE conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003316 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003316 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Morganella morganii gyrB conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003306 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003306 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Mycobacterium leprae gyrA conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003298 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003298 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Mycobacterium leprae gyrB conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003304 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003304 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Mycobacterium tuberculosis gyrA conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003295 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003295 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Mycobacterium tuberculosis gyrB with mutation conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003459 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003459 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Mycoplasma hominis parC conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003310 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003310 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa gyrA conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003684 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003684 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa parC conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003702 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003702 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Salmonella serovars gyrB conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003307 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003307 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Salmonella serovars parE conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003317 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003317 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Staphylococcus aureus gyrA conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003296 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003296 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Staphylococcus aureus parC conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003312 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003312 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Staphylococcus aureus parE conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003315 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003315 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Streptococcus pneumoniae parC conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003311 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003311 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Ureaplasma urealyticum gyrB conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003305 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003305 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
| Ureaplasma urealyticum parC conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones |
ARO:3003309 |
not organism-specific |
— |
- ARO:3003309 (CARD/ARO asserts confers_resistance_to_antibiotic ARO:3000762 (pefloxacin); database assertion, not a primary citation.)
|
Causal graphs
Evidence-backed mechanism graphs: how the compound reaches its
target, what the target does, and how the effect propagates to growth inhibition
or death.
Pefloxacin inhibits bacterial DNA gyrase supercoiling MECHANISTIC
Pefloxacin inhibits the DNA gyrase-catalyzed supercoiling reaction, disrupting bacterial chromosome topology control.
Nodes — pefloxacin_dna_gyrase_supercoiling_inhibition
| Node | Label | Type | Grounding |
pefloxacin |
pefloxacin |
COMPOUND |
CHEBI:50199 |
dna_gyrase |
bacterial DNA gyrase |
GENE_OR_PROTEIN |
ARO:3000733 |
dna_supercoiling |
ATP-dependent DNA supercoiling |
BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS |
REVIEWED_LABEL_ONLY |
dna_topology_control |
bacterial DNA topology control |
BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS |
REVIEWED_LABEL_ONLY |
Edges — pefloxacin_dna_gyrase_supercoiling_inhibition
| Subject | Predicate | Object | Evidence |
pefloxacin |
inhibits |
dna_supercoiling |
- PMID:3010848 (Zweerink and Edison included perfloxacin, an older spelling for pefloxacin, in comparative Micrococcus luteus DNA gyrase supercoiling assays.)
|
dna_gyrase |
enables |
dna_supercoiling |
- PMID:3010848 (The purified-enzyme assay measured quinolone inhibition of supercoiling by Micrococcus luteus DNA gyrase.)
|
dna_supercoiling |
supports |
dna_topology_control |
- PMID:3010848 (The in vitro comparison links quinolone-sensitive DNA gyrase activity to DNA supercoiling.)
|
Curation history
-
SEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
2026-08-30 · seed_from_sources
Seeded from data/raw/ inventories (ARO, CHEBI)
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
2026-08-30 · seed_from_sources
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
2026-08-30 · seed_from_sources
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
RESEEDED_FROM_SOURCES
2026-08-31 · seed_from_sources
Re-seeded from updated data/raw/ inventories
-
CURATED_CAUSAL_GRAPH
2026-09-04 · codex · LLM-assisted
Added a PMID-supported causal graph for pefloxacin inhibition of bacterial DNA gyrase supercoiling and marked the coarse target scope as curator-reviewed.
Provenance
Seeded by scripts/seed_from_sources.py from the committed
inventories in data/raw/.
View the record.