Evaluation of the levofloxacin release characters from a rabbit foldable capsular vitreous body

The authors have manufactured a novel rabbit foldable capsular vitreous body (FCVB). The aim of this study was to determine whether this rabbit FCVB can release levofloxacin in vitro and in vivo, and to evaluate the release characteristics. In vitro, the rabbit FCVB with levofloxacin 500 μg/mL was immersed in cups of modified Franz diffusion cells. Following this, 200 μL of liquid was aspirated at intervals from 10 minutes to 24 hours. In vivo, the FCVB with levofloxacin was implanted into the right eyes of five rabbits. After implantation, the aqueous humor was aspirated on days 1, 7, 14, 28, and 56. The levofloxacin concentrations in the cups and aqueous humor samples were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The FCVB was observed under a scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the released levofloxacin was stabilized at 20 ng/mL at time points from 10 minutes to 24 hours in vitro. In vivo, levofloxacin concentrations in the aqueous humor were 132, 50, 39, 11, and 15 ng/mL on days 1, 7, 14, 28, and 56, respectively. In the FCVB capsules, 300 nm apertures were observed. These results suggest the rabbit FCVB released levofloxacin stably in vitro and sustainably in vivo. This study provides a novel combined approach, with the FCVB as a vitreous substitute and drug delivery system for the treatment of bacterial endophthalmitis.