Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the retinal toxicity of intravitreal nanogold, a novel antiangiogenic and long–term delivery agent.
Methods: :
One eye of each of 8 Dutch–belted rabbits was injected with intravitreal nanogold; the other eye served as a control. 4 rabbits received a dose of 67 um/0.1cc of nanogold intravitreally into one eye; and the other 4 rabbits were injected with 670 um/0.1cc of nanogold intravitreally into one eye. At one week, the rabbits were sacrificed and both eyes enucleated. The eyes were fixed with 2% paraformaldehyde and sectioned for histological examination.
Results: :
In all injected and control eyes, there was mild vacuolization in the inner plexiform and ganglion cell layers. The retina and retinal pigment epithelium were otherwise histologically normal.
Conclusions: :
Intravitreal nanogold at concentrations of 67 um/0.1cc and 670 um/0.1cc showed no signs of retinal toxicity on histological examination.
Keywords: drug toxicity/drug effects • microscopy: light/fluorescence/immunohistochemistry • pharmacology