What Does the HCL After Ciprofloxacin Mean?
Ciprofloxacin HCl is an antibiotic drug most commonly used to treat urinary tract infections. "HCl" is the empirical formula for hydrochloride. Hydrochloride is added to ciprofloxacin so that the drug can be produced in tablet form. Ciprofloxacin by itself, without the HCl, always comes in a liquid suspension which must be taken intravenously or as eye and ear drops.
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HCl Chemistry
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By itself, HCl is hydrochloric acid, the combination of hydrogen (H) and chlorine (Cl). When combined with an organic ion, such as ciprofloxacin, HCl becomes a salt called a hydrochloride which makes the ciprofloxacin more soluble.
Ciprofloxacin Chemistry
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Ciprofloxacin is an organic compound in the quinolone family of antibiotics. It works by interfering with the DNA in bacterial cells so as to prevent them from dividing.
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Ciprofloxacin in Tablet Form
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To make ciprofloxacin in tablet form, it must first be combined with hydrochloride and water. Then it is exposed to an organic solvent. Over a period of a few days, pure crystalline ciprofloxacin hydrochloride will precipitate out of the suspension. This is collected and dried, and used to produce ciprofloxacin tablets.
History of Ciprofloxacin HCl
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Ciprofloxacin was created in the 1980s by the pharmaceutical company Bayer, and went on the market later that decade. The tablet form actually preceded the intravenous form. Ciprofloxacin is a "broad-spectrum" antibiotic, which means that it is effective against many kinds of bacteria rather than only specific families. Due to the comparatively higher risk of serious side effects, however, ciprofloxacin remains relatively limited in use. Due to overuse in parts of Asia, many bacteria there have developed resistance to the drug.
Safety of HCl in Drugs
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Hydrochloride is frequently used in the pharmaceutical industry and is not harmful. In fact, with ciprofloxacin, the use of hydrochloride increases the overall effectiveness and safety of the antibiotic properties of the resulting drug by maximizing the drug's ability to be utilized by the human body. Hydrochloride also minimizes the amount of trace contaminants left over by the synthesizing process.
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