Effect of metal ions on some pharmacologically relevant interactions involving fluoroquinolone antibiotics

Complexation of five metal cations, Fe(3+), Al(3+), Zn(2+), Cu(2+) and Mg(2+) with four fluoroquinolones, levofloxacin, sparfloxacin, ciprofloxacin hydrochloride and enrofloxacin and human serum albumin (HSA) has been studied for better understanding of bioavailability of drugs interacting with metals and proteins.

The binding parameters have been determined using fluorescence and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopic techniques. The effect of metal cations on the interaction of fluoroquinolones with HSA has also been investigated.

The association constants were of the order of 10(2)-10(4) for the fluoroquinolone-metal ion interaction. For a given drug, the chelation potential of Al(3+) was highest, whereas that of Mg(2+) was lowest. At a metal ion/drug ratio of 1:1, approximately 50%-73% of metal ion was bound per mole drug in most cases. In the case of HSA-metal ion interaction, for Fe(3+) and Zn(2+) ions, there was only one class of binding site, whereas for Al(3+) and Cu(2+) ions, two types of binding sites were found. The relative affinity of various metal ions was found to vary as Al(3+)>Cu(2+)>Zn(2+)>Fe(3+). The extent of binding was found to be independent of the charge on the ion. Owing to very weak quenching of fluorescence, the association constant for the interaction of Mg(2+) ion could not be determined by this technique. The binding affinity of all the fluoroquinolones to HSA was found to increase in the presence of Cu(2+) ions, whereas all other metal ions decreased the binding -affinity with the exception of levofloxacin in the presence of Zn(2+) and Al(3+) ions. Increase in the binding affinity indicated that the metal ions facilitate HSA-fluoroquinolone interaction and fluoroquinolones probably interact with HSA via a metal ion bridge. Decrease in the binding affinity, by contrast, can either be due to the fact that fluoroquinolone-metal ion complex inhibits fluoroquinolone-HSA interaction or metal ions produce conformational changes in the HSA molecule.

Results indicate that metal chelate formation can cause significant reduction in the antimicrobial activity of fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Alteration in the HSA-fluoroquinolone binding affinity in the presence of metal ions could have significant pharmacological effects. Quantitative estimate of the magnitude of interaction of different metal ions could also be obtained from the data.