Action of Fluoroquinolones and Linezolid on Logarithmic- and Stationary-Phase Culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

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Abstract
The new challenges involved in the chemotherapy of tuberculosis make it necessary to find novel drugs, especially ones that are useful in the latent phase of the disease. We evaluated the activity of linezolid and fluoroquinolones against logarithmic- and stationary-phase Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We observed that linezolid exhibits antibacterial action, although slowly, in both situations. Quinolones with an 8-methoxy group exhibit greater activity than levofloxacin in logarithmic growth phases, whereas levofloxacin exhibits greater activity in stationary-phase growth. The study of the activity of drugs against the M. tuberculosis microorganism in the latent phase is one of the most important tools available in the fight against the tuberculosis epidemic, and both linezolid and the new fluoroquinolones appear to be promising drugs.