Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of
chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) in the rabbit cornea.
Methods: Each eye of 16 New Zealand white rabbits were topically instilled with 50 μL of
CHG 0.02% eye drops twice with a 5-min interval. Four (4) corneas of 2 rabbits were harvested
at each time point. The concentration of CHG in the cornea was determined with high-performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC) and 387 software to simulate the pharmacokinetic
parameters.
Results: The concentration of CHG in the cornea displayed an open two-compartment
model. Tmax was 13.75 min, Cmax 0.713 ug · g−1, clearance rate 1.64 ug · g−1 · min−1, and t½α,
t½
β
, and t½ka was 2.65, 48.72, and 2.67 min, respectively.
Conclusions: The concentration of CHG in the rabbit cornea could be determined by means
of HPLC. The maximum concentration of CHG in the corneal tissue was much higher than
the trophozoite minimum amoebicidal concentration (TMAC) in vitro.
