Moxifloxacin‐Impregnated Contact Lenses for Treatment of Keratitis in Rabbit Eyes

ABSTRACT Moxifloxacin (MOX) was loaded into commercial contact lenses (CLs) via supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO 2 ) to attain MOX‐impregnated CL for keratitis treatment. This study aimed to investigate Pseudomonas keratitis treatment with MOX‐impregnated CL compared to the traditional eyedrop administration. MOX impregnation was accomplished employing optimum parameters of 2.5 h drug exposure time, 25 MPa pressure, and 313 K for ScCO 2 conditions using ethanol co‐solvent rendering sustainable delivery, up to 7 days at effective dosage formulation. The MOX‐impregnated CL was found to be safe with no significant toxicity on fibroblast cells after 5 days of contact time. Bacterial viability in vivo keratitis treatment in rabbit eyes was significantly decreased to 10 2 from 10 9 CFU/cornea for MOX‐impregnated CL treatment, almost similar to exhaustive conventional 0.5% MOX eye drop treatments. The MOX‐impregnated CL treatment revealed no conjunctival hyperemia, edema, or secretion for all eyes in the relevant group, and transparent cornea with no keratitis focus was obtained for two of the eyes ( n = 6). The normal histological structure was seen with MOX‐impregnated CL treatment on healthy eyes. Moreover, polymorphonuclear cell infiltration observed in keratitis eyes without any treatment was significantly decreased to a few polymorphonuclear cells in the groups treated with MOX eyedrops and MOX‐impregnated CL.