text: Like all fluoroquinolones, levofloxacin is a fluorinated quinolone carboxylic acid. It is a chiral molecule and the pure (−)-(S)-enantiomer of the racemic drug ofloxacin. This enantiomer binds more effectively to the DNA gyrase enzyme and to topoisomerase IV than its (+)-(R)-counterpart. Levofloxacin is referred to as a chiral switch: These are chiral drugs that have already been patent claimed, approved and marketed as racemates (or as mixtures of diastereomers but have since been redeveloped as pure enantiomers. Distinct functional groups on this molecules include a hydroxyl group, carbonyl group, and an aromatic ring.
  The substance is used as the hemihydrate, which has the empirical formula CHFNO ·  HO and a molecular mass of 370.38 g/mol. Levofloxacin is a light-yellowish-white to yellow-white crystal or crystalline powder. A major issue in the synthesis of levofloxacin is identifying correct entries into the benzoxazine core in order to produce the correct chiral form.