Ciprofloxacin is a well-established broad-spectrum fluroquinolone antibiotic that penetrates well into the lung tissues; still the mechanisms of its transepithelial transport are unknown. Contributions of specific transporters including multidrug efflux transporters, organic cation transporters and organic anion transporting polypeptide transporters on the uptake of ciprofloxacin were investigated in vitro using an air interface bronchial epithelial model. Our results demonstrate that ciprofloxacin is subject to predominantly active influx and a slight efflux component.
