Virucidal and chlamydicidal activities of eye drops with povidone-iodine liposome complex.

Povidone-iodine (PVP-I) is a broad-spectrum microbicide with in vitro activity against bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoans. A 5% solution of PVP-I proved to be highly effective in ophthalmic surgery for the prophylaxis of endophthalmitis. For the antiseptic treatment of eye infections a novel application form of PVP-I has been developed by using a PVP-I liposome complex which demonstrated an excellent antimicrobial efficacy. In this study it could be shown that the novel liposomal formulations containing 2.5 or 5% PVP-I were as active as the aqueous solution against herpes simplex virus type 1, adenovirus type 8, coxsackievirus A9 and Chlamydia trachomatis in cell culture referring to equal PVP-I concentrations. Long-term cytotoxicity experiments demonstrated a moderate cytotoxicity for both formulations with a better tolerability of the liposomal PVP-I formulation compared with the aqueous solution. There is no evidence for a genotoxic activity of these agents.