Effect of laminarin and chitosan gel formulations on the treatment of hydrofluoric acid induced corneal burns in the rabbits

Abstract

Corneal burns were induced in 36 New Zealand white rabbits by instillation in both eyes of 0.05 mL of 2% hydrofluoric acid (HF) for 60 seconds. Following this, the eyes were irrigated with 500 mL isotonic saline (ISOT) and then the rabbits were divided into 4 treatment groups (1) = 9 rabbits each) including: laminarin solution (LS), chitosan hydrogel (CHG), chitosan hydrogel containing laminarin (CHG+L) and ISOT as the control. For each treatment group, one drop of each regimen was instilled 2 times a day and for periods of 2, 7 and 14 days respectively. Thus, 3 rabbits were used for each treatment period in each treatment group. The eyes were clinically examined immediately after the chemical burning and at days 1, 2, 7 and 14 of the follow up periods. The animals were euthanatized at the end of the follow-up periods and eyes were processed for histopathological examination. Clinical and histopathological results revealed that while LS or ISOT was effective, CHG and CHG+L were not effective in the treatment of HF corneal burns. LS had a better therapeutic effect than ISOT. CHG and CHG+L treatment had no accelerating effect on the healing of: corneal erosion throughout the experimental procedures.