Aim:Antofloxacin hydrochloride is a new fluoroquinolone antibiotic with broad-spectrum in vitro activity.Using the neutropenic murine thigh infection model,we defined the pharmacodynamic profile and property of antofloxacin hydroehloride against Staphylococcus aureus.Methods:Single-dose pharmacokinetic studies of antofloxacin hydrochloride were carried out in thigh infected mice.Therapy was initiated at 2 h postinoculation with 5-640 mg/kg per d fractionated for different dosing regimens.The thighs were removed for bacterial measurement after 24 h of therapy,the best pharmacokinetic/ pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) index correlated with the efficacy was determined by nonlinear regression analysis.A sigmoid Emax dose-response model was used to estimate the daily dose and AUC24 h/MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) required to achieve a static effect.Results:The PK was linear with similar elimination half-life over the dose range studied.The AUC24 h/MIC ratio was the PK/PD parameter that best correlated with efficacy (R2=92.3%,90.8% for the two organisms,compared with Cmax/MIC and T>MIC [%],respectively).The 24 h static dose ranged from 34.3 to 153.7 mg/kg per d for all S aureus strains,the total AUC24h/MIC ratio to achieve bacteriostatic effect varied from 31.7 to 122.5 (mean,65.7±30.6).Conclusion:Antofloxacin hydrochloride showed powerful antibacterial activity against the S aureus isolates used in our neutropenic infected mice model.Our data suggested that the AUC/MIC ratio appeared to be most closely linked to the bacterial outcome (R290%),and a total AUC24/MIC ratio of 65.7 appears to be the target value to achieve a net bactericidal activity against S aureus,similar to the results of other fluoroquinolones.