The pharmacokinetics of 5-amino-1-cyclopropyl-6,8-difluoro-1,4-dihydro-7-(cis-3,5-dimethyl-1-piperazinyl)-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (AT-4140) in experimental animals given a single oral dose of 5 mg/kg were studied. The mean peak levels of AT-4140 in plasma of mice, rats, dogs, and monkeys were 0.25, 0.50, 1.14, and 0.49 ,ug/ml, respectively, with mean elimination half-lives of 5.0, 3.8, 8.0, and 11.7 h, respectively. The oral bioavailability of AT-4140 calculated from the ratio of the areas under the concentration-time curve after oral and intravenous administration was 77% in dogs. The levels of AT-4140 in tissue in mice and rats were 1 to 11 times higher than the levels in plasma and 4 to 9 times higher than those of ciprofloxacin in mice. The mean 24-h biliary recovery of AT-4140 in rats was 5.6% of the dose and became 21.3% after (3-glucuronidase treatment. The mean 48-h urinary recoveries of AT-4140 in mice, rats, dogs, and monkeys were 6.7, 12.9,-8.6, and 12.7%, respectively, of the dose and were 7.8, 16.3, 8.9, and 18 Nakamura, Chem. Abstr. 107:236733v, 1987) and ciprofloxacin (4) were synthesized in our laboratory as reported previously. Doses and concentrations of the drugs are expressed in terms of the free bases.Animals. The animals used were male Std-ddY mice weighing 22 to 38 g, male Wistar rats weighing 190 to 270 g, male beagle dogs weighing 11 to 13 kg, and male cynomolgus monkeys weighing 3.7 to 5.4 kg.Drug administration. For oral administration, AT-4140 was suspended in 0.2% carboxymethylcellulose sodium solution (for mice and rats) or 0.5% gum tragacanth solution (for monkeys) and ciprofloxacin was dissolved in deionized water to avoid its aggregation in 0.2% carboxymethylcellulose sodium solution (for mice). Both the drugs were packed in gelatin capsules for oral administration to dogs. For intravenous administration, the drugs were dissolved in physiological saline with an appropriate amount of NaOH if necessary. The drugs were administered once at a dose of 5 mg/kg to animals that had fasted overnight, unless otherwise specified.Preparation of assay samples. Blood was withdrawn by cardiac puncture from mice and rats under ether anesthesia at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h postadministration and by * Corresponding author.venipuncture from dogs and monkeys at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h after oral administration and 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h after intravenous administration. Blood samples were centrifuged to separate the plasma. Organs and tissues were harvested from exsanguinated mice 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h postadministration and from exsanguinated rats 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h postadministration. Spinal fluid was taken from the same rats by puncturing the atlanto-occipital membrane by the method of Yaksh and Rudy (17) before exsanguination. Tissue extracts were prepared as described previously (9). Bile was collected from rats through a polyethylene catheter introduced into the common bile duct by surgery and pooled for 0 to 3, 3 to 6, and 6 to 24...