Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026
Use of Rabbit Eyes in Pharmacokinetic Studies of Intraocular Drugs
Published on: July 23, 2016
Pharmacokinetic properties of intravitreal I-124-aflibercept in a rabbit model using PET/CT
John B Christoforidis1, Michelle M Williams, Shankaran Kothandaraman
1Department of Ophthalmology, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA. john.christoforidis@osumc.edu
Purpose:
To determine the anatomic characteristics and pharmacokinetic properties of intravitreally-placed aflibercept in a rabbit model.
Materials And Methods:
Four Dutch-belted rabbits underwent intravitreal injection with I-124-aflibercept. Serial imaging with PET/CT imaging was performed on days 0, 2, 5, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35. Measured radioactivity emission in becquerels/mL was used to calculate the half-lives for aflibercept.
Results:
I-124 aflibercept was confined within the vitreous cavity for the duration of the study. I-124 aflibercept could be detected in the vitreous cavity until day 28 and the average retention time with standard error after correction for radioactive decay was 4.58 ± 0.07 days.
Conclusions:
I-124 aflibercept was only visible in the vitreous cavity by PET/CT imaging following intravitreal injection. The retention properties were found to be comparable to those measured by other reported methods.
