Cytotoxicity of Intracameral Injection Drugs to Corneal Endothelium as Evaluated by Corneal Endothelial Cell Culture

The cell culture method was used to quantitatively evaluate the cytotoxicity to porcine corneal endothelial cells by drugs in the usual concentrations of intracameral injections (ICI). Time-dependent cytotoxicity of drugs was evaluated quantitatively; dye exclusion assay by trypan blue was used as a viability assay; and cytotoxicity to corneal endothelium was tested using amphotericin-B, amikacin, colistin, sulbenicillin, and cephradine in their original, 10-fold, and 100-fold ICI concentrations. Original and 10-fold ICI concentrations of betamethasone also were used. In original and 10-fold ICI concentrations, only amphotericin-B had significant cytotoxicity. In 100-fold ICI concentrations, amphotericin-B, colistin, and sulbenicillin had significant cytotoxicity. Betamethasone had neither a cytotoxic nor a proliferative effect in its original and 10-fold ICI concentrations. A 0.1-fold ICI concentration of amphotericin-B also showed 42.75% cytotoxicity to corneal endothelium by monolayer cultured cells and the time-dependent cytotoxicity of drugs as a quantitative method is efficient and objective.