The quinolones are an important group of synthetic antimicrobial drugs used for treating bacterial diseases of humans and animals. Microorganisms transform antimicrobial quinolones (including fluoroquinolones) and the pharmacologically related naphthyridones, pyranoacridones, and cinnolones to a variety of metabolites. The biotransformation processes involve hydroxylation of methyl groups; hydroxylation of aliphatic and aromatic rings; oxidation of alcohols and amines; reduction of carboxyl groups; removal of methyl, carboxyl, fluoro, and cyano groups; addition of formyl, acetyl, nitrosyl, and cyclopentenone groups; and cleavage of aliphatic and aromatic rings. Most of these reactions greatly reduce or eliminate the antimicrobial activity of the quinolones.
J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2012, V. 39, N 12, pp 1731-1740

A strain of the saprobic fungus Mucor ramannianus, isolated from a forest, was used to demonstrate the potential for ciprofloxacin biotransformation by zygomycetes in the environment. The fungus carried out the regioselective N-acetylation of ciprofloxacin to a single product, which was purified from culture extracts by high-performance liquid chromatography. The metabolite was identified by mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry as 1-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-7-(4-acetyl-1-piperazinyl)-3-quinolinecarboxylic acid.
FEMS Microbiology Letters. 1999. V.177. N 1. P.131–135.