Iontophoretic application of tobramycin to uninfected and Pseudomonas aeruginosa-infected rabbit corneas.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis was induced in rabbits to study the effects of corneal infection on the delivery of tobramycin by iontophoresis. Some rabbits were treated by use of an eye cup with no current as a control for iontophoresis, and others were treated with fortified drops (1.36%) delivered topically for comparison with results of earlier studies. One hour after treatment with tobramycin, the concentration of drug in the infected corneas was compared with that achieved in mock-infected and uninfected eyes. Iontophoresis of 25 mg of tobramycin per ml at 0.8 mA for 10 min delivered significantly more drug (P = 0.0001) to corneal tissue than did drops or use of an eye cup without current in P. aeruginosa-infected eyes mock-infected eyes, or uninfected eyes. Tobramycin concentrations in the infected corneas (605.9 micrograms/g) were not significantly different (P = 0.815) from the concentrations in mock-infected eyes (641.4 micrograms/g), but were lower (P = 0.007) than those obtained by iontophoresis in uninfected corneas (853.6 micrograms/g). Use of an eye cup without current delivered tobramycin equally to infected, mock-infected, and normal eyes, i.e., 176.5, 171.0, and 163.1 micrograms/g, respectively (P greater than 0.709). Tobramycin delivered by use of fortified drops delivered topically was detectable in mock-infected corneas (20 micrograms/g) and P. aeruginosa-infected corneas (6.0 micrograms/g). These results suggest that iontophoresis has value as an ocular drug delivery system and that an eye cup could also be useful in a therapeutic regimen for ocular infections.