A fluoroquinolone antibiotic that kills bacteria by interfering with their DNA replication. It's effective against a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, commonly used for urinary tract infections and certain serious infections.
From 'cipro-' (possibly from Cyprus, where early research occurred) + 'floxacin', the standard suffix for fluoroquinolone antibiotics developed in the 1980s. The 'flox' portion relates to fluorine and quinolone structure.
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