Penetration of moxifloxacin through crosslinked corneas

PURPOSE: To determine the ability of moxifloxacin to penetrate the rabbit eye after corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) with riboflavin and ultraviolet-A light irradiation. SETTING: Harlan Biotech Israel, Rehovot, Israel. DESIGN: Experimental study. METHODS: One eye of 10 New Zealand white rabbits had CXL treatment. One month after treatment and 1 hour before an aqueous humor sample was obtained, 1 drop of 5 mg/mL moxifloxacin (Vigamox) was applied to both eyes of each rabbit every 15 minutes for a total of 4 drops. The aqueous humor samples were sent for high-performance liquid chromatography for antibiotic-concentration analysis. The eyes were enucleated and sent for histology analysis. RESULTS: Moxifloxacin levels were obtained and analyzed for all 20 eyes. The mean level of moxifloxacin was 2.26 mu g/mL +/- 0.89 (SD) (range 1.09 to 4.20 mu g/mL) in the treated eyes and 2.43 +/- 1.17 mu g/mL (range 0.89 to 4.72 mu g/mL) in the untreated eyes. The difference between the groups was not statistically significant. Of the 10 eye pairs, lower moxifloxacin aqueous humor concentrations were found in 6 treated eyes and 4 untreated eyes. CONCLUSION: Penetration of moxifloxacin into the anterior chamber of rabbits was not influenced by previous CXL treatment. (C) 2014 ASCRS and ESCRS