Occurrence and distribution of heavy metals in water and soil sediments of Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India.

The occurrence of heavy metals (HMs) in water and soil sediments represents a serious environmental concern. This study revealed the presence and distribution of HMs in water and soil sediments of various places in Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. Twenty-one sites were selected along the study area, and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used to analyze the concentration of the heavy metals. The dominance of various HMs in the soil sediment sample follows the order strontium (Sr) > Manganese (Mn) > Barium (Ba) > Zinc (Zn) > Nickel (Ni) and Sr > Mn > Zn > Boron (B) > , respectively. It was found that the concentration of HMs in water and soil sediments in Ambur market and Mottukollai area was significantly higher than the recommended limits. Thus, the results showed that the presence of HMs in water and soil sediments could be threatened pollution factors unsafe for irrigation, drinking, and other human activities.

Hormetic effect of low doses of rapamycin triggers anti-aging cascades in WRL-68 cells by modulating an mTOR-mitochondria cross-talk.

BACKGROUND: Rapamycin is hormetic in nature-it demonstrates contrasting effects at high and low doses. It is toxic at moderate/high doses, while it can restrain aging and extend lifespan at low doses. However, it is not fully understood how rapamycin governs cellular aging. On the other hand, aging is putatively correlated to mitochondrial dysregulation. Although previous studies have suggested that hormetic (low) doses of rapamycin can cause partial/incomplete inhibition of mTOR, the actual modus operandi of how such partial mTOR inhibition might modulate the mTOR-mitochondria cross-talk remained to be deciphered in the context of cellular aging. The present study was designed to understand the hormetic effects of rapamycin on cellular factors that govern aging-associated changes in mitochondrial facets, such as functional and metabolic homeostases, sustenance of membrane potential, biogenesis, mitophagy, and oxidative injury to mitochondrial macromolecules. METHODS AND RESULTS: WRL-68 cells treated (24 h) with variable doses of rapamycin were studied for estimating their viability, apoptosis, senescence, mitochondrial density and Δψm. Expression levels of key functional proteins were estimated by immunofluorescence/immunoblots. Oxidative damage to mtDNA/mtRNA/proteins was measured in mitochondrial lysates. We demonstrated that hormetic doses (0.1 and 1 nM) of rapamycin can alleviate aging-associated mitochondrial dyshomeostasis in WRL-68 cells, such as oxidative injury to mitochondrial nucleic acids and proteins, as well as disequilibrium of mitochondrial density, membrane potential, biogenesis, mitophagy and overall metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: We established that low doses of rapamycin can hormetically amend the mTOR-mitochondria cross-talk, and can consequently promote anti-aging outcome in cells.

Evaluation of Horizontal Distance between WALA-FA Point in Angle's Class I, Class II, and Class III Malocclusion.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of the study was to measure the horizontal distance between the FA-WALA (Facial Axis Point-William Andrews and Larry Andrews) of posterior teeth in Angle's Class I, Class II, and Class III malocclusions and to assess the depth of the Curve of Spee, to find the correlation between intercanine FA and intercanine WALA and its significance. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty pretreatment mandibular casts of patients with an age range of 18-35 years were included. A sample size of 20 was evaluated in Angle's Class I, Class II, and Class III, respectively. The WALA ridge and FA points were marked in the model and calibrated using the digital Vernier caliper. RESULTS: There was an incremental increase in the horizontal distance from the FA-WALA in the posterior teeth. The mandibular intercanine FA-FA and intercanine WALA-WALA distance were greater in Angle's Class III group when compared to Angle's Class II. The Curve of Spee measurement was increased in Angle's Class II group, while Angle's Class III had a flat curve. CONCLUSION: The horizontal distance between FA-WALA increased incrementally in the posterior teeth in Angle's Class I, Class II, and Class III malocclusions. In Angle's Class II malocclusion, the Curve of Spee measurement was increased and had a narrower mandibular arch.

Frictional Forces Produced by Three Different Ligation Methods in Two Different Types of Brackets in 0.016 Nickel-Titanium Wire: An in vitro Study.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the frictional forces produced by three types of ligatures (conventional elastic ligatures, unconventional elastic ligatures, and tooth-colored ligature wire) on ceramic bracket and stainless steel brackets with 0.016 nickeltitanium (NiTi) archwire in the dry state. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty each stainless steel brackets and ceramic brackets (0.022 slot central incisor brackets) were mounted on the acrylic block. This assembly was mounted on the Instron machine with the crossheads moving upward at a speed of 10 mm/min in the upper jaw of the Instron machine, one acrylic block with hook and a straight length of 0.016 NiTi wire was attached to it. This wire was ligated to brackets with three different ligation methods. In each test, the brackets were moved a distance of 4 mm, 8 mm, and 12 mm across the central space, and the load cell readings were recorded on the digital display. The difference between the readings is noted. RESULTS: Stainless steel brackets with 0.016 NiTi archwire ligated with conventional, unconventional, and tooth-colored ligation with the movement of 4 mm, 8 mm, and 12 mm shows that the tooth-colored ligation indicating least frictional force decay. Comparison of frictional forces (in newtons) between ceramic brackets and stainless steel brackets using 0.016 NiTi wire for a movement of 12 mm shows that stainless steel bracket with tooth-colored ligation produced least frictional force compared with ceramic bracket. CONCLUSION: Based on this study results, we can conclude that stainless steel brackets produce less frictional force compared to ceramic brackets. Similarly, tooth-colored ligatures can be preferred to reduce friction during leveling stage.

A novel indenone derivative selectively induces senescence in MDA-MB-231 (breast adenocarcinoma) cells.

Triple-negative breast cancer is the most aggressive form of breast cancer with limited intervention options. Moreover, a number of belligerent therapeutic strategies adopted to treat such aggressive forms of cancer have demonstrated detrimental side effects. This necessitates exploration of targeted chemotherapeutics. We assessed the efficacy of a novel indenone derivative (nID) [(±)-N-(2-(-5-methoxy-1-oxo-3-(2-oxo-2-phenylethyl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-2-yl)ethyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide], synthesized by a novel internal nucleophile-assisted palladium-catalyzed hydration-olefin insertion cascade; against triple-negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231). On 24 h treatment, the nID caused decline in the viability of MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cells, but did not significantly (P < 0.05) affect WRL-68 (epithelial-like) cells. In fact, the nID demonstrated augmentation of p53 expression, and consequent p53-dependent senescence in both MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cells, but not in WRL-68 cells. The breast cancer cells also exhibited reduced proliferation, downregulated p65/NF-κB and survivin, along with augmented p21Cip1/WAF1 expression, on treatment with the nID. This ensued cell cycle arrest at G1 stage, which might have driven the MDA-MB-231 cells to senescence. We observed a selectivity of the nID to target MDA-MB-231 cells, whereas WRL-68 cells did not show any considerable effect. The results underscored that the nID has potential to be developed into a cancer therapeutic.

Hexavalent chromium-induced autophagic death of WRL-68 cells is mitigated by aqueous extract of Cuminum cyminum L. seeds.

In this study, we assessed the potential of aqueous extract (CSEaq) of Cuminum cyminum L. (cumin) seeds in protecting WRL-68 cells from hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)]-induced oxidative injury. Cells exposed to Cr(VI) (10 µM CrO3) for 24 h demonstrated a twofold increase in ROS, which, in turn, led to extensive oxidative stress, consequently causing colossal decline in cell viability (by 58.82 ± 9.79%) and proliferation (as was evident from a reduced expression of Ki-67, a proliferation marker). Immunofluorescence studies showed that Cr(VI) diminished the expressions of mTOR and survivin in WRL-68 cells. It also led to a substantial elevation of BECN1 expression, which suggested autophagy. Overall, our results indicated that 24 h exposure of WRL-68 cells to Cr(VI) caused oxidative stress-induced autophagic cell death. CSEaq was found to protect WRL-68 cells from the same fate by refurbishing their viability and proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. The extract reduced ROS in these cells, which consequently decreased the degree of autophagic cell death by restoring expressions of mTOR, survivin and BECN1 to their respective normal levels. Biochemical assays revealed that CSEaq is rich in phenolic constituents. Total phenolic content of CSEaq demonstrated positive correlations with (i) its antioxidant potential, (ii) its alleviation of cellular oxidative stress and (iii) its cytoprotective efficacy in Cr(VI)-treated WRL-68 cells. We also identified the major phenolic constituents of CSEaq. Our study suggested that polyphenols in CSEaq might be responsible for protecting WRL-68 cells from Cr(VI)-governed oxidative assault that would have otherwise led to survivin/mTOR-mediated autophagic death.

Gene therapy for the mitochondrial genome: Purging mutations, pacifying ailments.

In the recent years, the reported cases of mitochondrial disorders have reached a colossal number. These disorders spawn a sundry of pathological conditions, which lead to pernicious symptoms and even fatality. Due to the unpredictable etiologies, mitochondrial diseases are putatively referred to as "mystondria" (mysterious diseases of mitochondria). Although present-day research has greatly improved our understanding of mitochondrial disorders, effective therapeutic interventions are still at the precursory stage. The conundrum becomes further complicated because these pathologies might occur due to either mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations or due to mutations in the nuclear DNA (nDNA), or both. While correcting nDNA mutations by using gene therapy (replacement of defective genes by delivering wild-type (WT) ones into the host cell, or silencing a dominant mutant allele that is pathogenic) has emerged as a promising strategy to address some mitochondrial diseases, the complications in correcting the defects of mtDNA in order to renovate mitochondrial functions have remained a steep challenge. In this review, we focus specifically on the selective gene therapy strategies that have demonstrated prospects in targeting the pathological mutations in the mitochondrial genome, thereby treating mitochondrial ailments.

Chelating modified cellulose bearing pendant heterocyclic moiety for effective removal of heavy metals.

Cellulose bearing pendant Schiff base with heterocyclic chelating groups (CMC-Bz) was synthesized, which were fully characterized using various instrumental techniques such as solid state carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) spectra. The adsorption of toxic metals onto cellulosic material was tested in a batch mode operation. The adsorption functional factors such as pH, adsorbent dose, metal ion concentration, equilibrium time and temperature were experimentally optimized for the maximum removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions. Adsorption isotherms were evaluated with Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Redlich-Peterson isotherms. Kinetic parameters and equilibrium adsorption capacities were investigated for pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intra-particle diffusion models. Thermodynamic parameters and reusability were also evaluated.

Dental Implants: A Remote Option in Case of Somatic Delusion Disorder.

A 29-year-old female was referred by a psychiatrist for dental implantation and prosthodontic rehabilitation, as she had all her healthy permanent teeth extracted within a span of 2-6 months, due to somatic delusional disorder. She presently refuses artificial dentures and implants with the fear of having worms in her teeth and the fear not yet allayed. The patient cannot be treated for her edentulous state until her psychiatric symptoms are treated. This is the limitation for the implant surgeon where service rendered is impaired in spite of advanced professional skills, ideal patient ridge, and other factors, just where the patient is not mentally prepared for the dental rehabilitation procedures.

Rehabilitation of Anterior Maxilla with Dental Implants in Periodontally Compromised Patient.

Although implant is the treatment of choice for rehabilitation of patients with aggressive periodontitis, it is also challenging for the dentists. There are various views about success of implant therapy for these patients. Few authors have proposed that aggressive periodontitis patients have less success rate of implant survival, while many authors have shown successful management of aggressive periodontitis patients with implants. For implants to be successful in these patient, it is important to control the periodontal disease before placement of implants. Thus a multidisciplinary approach is essential for successful rehabilitation of these patients. This case report aims at discussing the periodontal management and implant rehabilitation in a patient with aggressive periodontitis.

Meta-analysis study to evaluate the association of MTHFR C677T polymorphism with risk of ischemic stroke.

Ischemic stroke is a condition characterized by reduced blood supply to part of the brain, initiating the ischemic cascade, leading to dysfunction of the brain tissue in that area. It is one of the leading causes of death and disability and is estimated to cause around 5.7 million deaths worldwide. Methyl tetra hydro-folate reductase (MTHFR) is a rate limiting enzyme in the methyl cycle which catalyzes the only biochemical reaction which produces 5, Methyl tetra hydro folate, the co-substrate for the re-methylation of homocystiene to produce methionine. MTFHR C677T is a common mutation of MTHFR and those homozygous for the MTFHR C677T produce a thermo-labile form of the protein with drastically reduced catalytic activity resulting in elevated plasma homocystiene levels - a common risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of MTHFR C677T in ischemic stroke remains unclear. To evaluate this association, we carried out a meta-analysis of existing published studies, which included 72 studies involving 12390 cases and 16274 controls. The forest plot was made to evaluate the overall risk of the mutation in the etiology of Ischemic Stroke. The overall Odds- ratio of the study was found to be 1.319 for random effects model, revealing a ∼32% increased risk of Ischemic stroke in the presence of MTHFR C667T mutation compared to controls. Publication bias in the study was analyzed using funnel plot which revealed that only 7 studies out of the 72 contributed to publication bias. These 7 studies were excluded and Meta-analysis was repeated for 65 studies and overall odds-ratio was 1.306, which showed that there was a 30% higher risk of Ischemic stroke in the presence of MTHFR C667T.

Effect of local application of curcumin and ornidazole gel in chronic periodontitis patients.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the comparative effect of curcumin and ornidazole in treating chronic periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty individuals of both sexes aged between 27 and 53 years diagnosed with chronic periodontitis and having pocket depths >5 mm bilaterally were selected for this study, in a split-mouth design. Examination of plaque index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment level was measured for each patient. The patients received a complete prophylaxis including scaling and root planing after which, both test gels were injected into the two experimental sites chosen, that had probing depth (PD) >5 mm and were located in symmetric quadrants. Pocket PD, clinical attachment loss, and plaque index were recorded at days 0 and 30. RESULTS: At 1-month evaluation, curcumin group showed a significant decrease in pocket PD, plaque index, and clinical attachment loss when compared to the ornidazole group. CONCLUSION: The results show a more favorable outcome with curcumin than ornidazole gel, thus curcumin can be used as an adjunct to nonsurgical periodontal therapy.

Semen preparation techniques in intrauterine insemination: A comparison of non-temperature and temperature controlled centrifugation in cases of unexplained infertility.

AIM: The aim of the following study is to compare pregnancy rates between the use of non-temperature and temperature controlled centrifugation on semen preparation technique in intrauterine insemination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The retrospective study was conducted on 671 patients of idiopathic infertility who underwent homologous artificial insemination at Fertility Research Center from the period of January 2007 to September 2012. The couples were randomized into two groups namely, Group A-patients (n = 303) being treated with sperm prepared by using non-temperature controlled centrifuge and Group B-Patients (n = 368) being treated with sperm prepared by temperature (37°C) controlled centrifuge. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The clinical pregnancy rate Group A was 13.86% and Group B was 12.77%. The clinical pregnancy fetal loss rate between the two groups was 38% and 42% respectively. The delivery rate per transfer was 62% and 58% respectively. No statistically significant difference was found between these two groups.

DNA binding mode of novel tetradentate amino acid based 2-hydroxybenzylidene-4-aminoantipyrine complexes.

Few transition metal complexes of tetradentate N(2)O(2) donor Schiff base ligands containing 2-hydroxybenzylidene-4-aminoantipyrine and amino acids (alanine/valine) abbreviated to KHL(1)/KHL(2) have been synthesized. All the metal complexes have been fully characterized with the help of elemental analyses, molecular weights, molar conductance values, magnetic moments and spectroscopic data. The Schiff bases KHL(1)/KHL(2) are found to act as tetradentate ligands using N(2)O(2) donor set of atoms leading to a square-planar geometry for the complexes around the metal ions. The binding behaviors of the complexes to calf thymus DNA have been investigated by absorption spectra, viscosity measurements and cyclic voltammetry. The DNA binding constants reveal that all these complexes interact with DNA through minor groove binding mode. The studies on mechanism of photocleavage reveal that singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) and superoxide anion radical (O(2)(-)) may play an important role in the photocleavage. The Schiff bases and their metal complexes have been screened for their in vitro antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and antifungal activities against Aspergillus niger, Fusarium solani, Culvularia lunata, Rhizoctonia bataicola and Candida albicans by MIC method.

Studies on DNA binding behaviour of biologically active transition metal complexes of new tetradentate N2O2 donor Schiff bases: inhibitory activity against bacteria.

A series of Cu(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) complexes of the type ML have been synthesized with Schiff bases derived from o-acetoacetotoluidide, 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde and o-phenylenediamine/1,4-diaminobutane. The complexes are insoluble in common organic solvents but soluble in DMF and DMSO. The measured molar conductance values in DMSO indicate that the complexes are non-electrolytic in nature. All the six metal complexes have been fully characterized with the help of elemental analyses, molecular weights, molar conductance values, magnetic moments and spectroscopic data. The analytical data helped to elucidate the structure of the metal complexes. The Schiff bases are found to act as tetradentate ligands using N(2)O(2) donor set of atoms leading to a square-planar geometry for the complexes around all the metal ions. The binding properties of metal complexes with DNA were investigated by absorption spectra, viscosity measurements and cyclic voltammetry. Detailed analysis reveals that the metal complexes intercalate into the DNA base stack as intercalators. All the metal complexes cleave the pUC19 DNA in presence of H(2)O(2.) The Schiff bases and their complexes have been screened for their antibacterial activity against five bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebsiella pneumoniae) by disk diffusion method. All the metal complexes have potent biocidal activity than the free ligands.

Characterization of folded conformations in a tetrapeptide containing two tryptophan residues by vibrational circular dichroism.

The intramolecularly hydrogen bonded conformations of the tetrapeptide Boc-Trp-Aib-Gly-Trp-OMe (WUGW) are investigated using experimental and quantum chemical predictions of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) in the 1800-1550 cm(-1) region. The predicted VCD spectrum, for a conformation (conformer A) obtained from optimization of crystal structure, reproduced the dominant negative VCD band observed experimentally in CH(3)OH and CHCl(3) solvents. However, the predicted VCD spectrum of Conformation A also has an extra positive band which is not seen in the experimental spectra. This mismatch appears to be due to the lack of solvent influence in the quantum chemical geometry optimizations. However, Conformations I and II, obtained, respectively, from constrained optimization of crystal and NMR structures, mimic the solvent stabilized structures and are predicted to have dominant negative VCD band as found in the experimental spectra. It is noted that, for the peptide investigated here, unconstrained quantum chemical geometry optimizations in vacuum converged to structures that are not the realistic models of conformations found in solution. It is also noted that undertaking quantum chemical vibrational property calculations directly using geometries obtained from crystal data or NMR data resulted in unrealistic vibrational frequencies and descriptions. However, constraining the backbone dihedral angles to those found in condensed medium, and optimizing the remaining geometrical parameters resulted in a better reproduction of the observed VCD in condensed medium. The vibrational origins of bands in all of the predicted VCD spectra for the WUGW-tetrapeptide have also been presented.

Corticosteroids for bacterial corneal ulcers.

AIMS: The aim of the study was to conduct a preliminary clinical trial to assess whether adjunctive topical corticosteroids improve outcomes in bacterial keratitis and, if no difference was found, to determine the feasibility and sample size necessary for conducting a larger trial to answer this question. METHODS: In this single centre, double-masked clinical trial, 42 patients with culture-confirmed bacterial keratitis at Aravind Eye Hospital in India were randomised to receive either topical prednisolone phosphate or placebo. All patients received topical moxifloxacin. The primary outcome was best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) at 3 months, adjusting for enrolment BSCVA and arm. Other pre-specified outcomes included re-epithelialisation time, infiltrate/scar size and adverse events. RESULTS: Compared with placebo, patients in the steroid group re-epithelialised more slowly (hazard ratio 0.47, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.94). There was no significant difference in BSCVA or infiltrate/scar size at 3 weeks or 3 months. To have 80% power to detect a two-line difference in acuity, 360 cases would be required. CONCLUSIONS: Although corticosteroid treatment resulted in a statistically significant delay in re-epithelialisation, this did not translate to a significant difference in visual acuity, infiltrate/scar size or adverse events. To assess the effect of steroids on acuity, a larger trial is warranted and feasible.

Corneal ulceration in south-east Asia III: prevention of fungal keratitis at the village level in south India using topical antibiotics.

AIM: To determine whether topical antifungal prophylaxis distributed by paid village health workers (VHWs) in south India is necessary after corneal abrasion to prevent fungal keratitis in a population where half of the ulcers are fungal. METHODS: Two panchayaths (village administrative units in Madurai district with a combined population of 48 039 were followed prospectively for 18 months by 15 VHWs who were trained to identify post-traumatic corneal abrasions. Patients fulfilling the eligibility criteria were randomised into two groups and treated with either 1% chloramphenicol and 1% clotrimazole ointment or 1% chloramphenicol and a placebo ointment three times a day for 3 days. Patients, doctors and VHWs were blinded to treatment. RESULTS: During the 18-month period, 1365 people reported to VHWs with ocular injuries, of whom 374 with corneal abrasions were eligible for treatment. Of these, 368 (98.5%) abrasions healed without complications. Two patients had mild localised allergic reactions to the ointment, two dropped out and two patients in the placebo group developed microscopic culture-negative corneal stromal infiltrates that healed in 1 week with natamycin drops. CONCLUSIONS: Both fungal and bacterial ulcers that occur after traumatic corneal abrasions seem to be effectively prevented in a village setting using only antibiotic prophylaxis.

Corneal ulceration in South East Asia. II: a strategy for the prevention of fungal keratitis at the village level in Burma.

AIM: To prove that topical antifungal and antibiotic prophylaxis distributed by grass roots village health workers (VHWs) in Burma is an effective public health intervention for the prevention of post-traumatic microbial keratitis in a population where the majority of ulcers are fungal. METHODS: Three villages in Bago District with a combined population of 16,987 were selected for the study. This defined population was followed prospectively for 12 months by 15 VHWs who were trained to identify post-traumatic corneal abrasions with fluorescein dye and a blue torch and to administer 1% chloramphenicol and 1% clotrimazole ointment three times a day for 3 days to the eyes of individuals who fulfilled the eligibility criteria. RESULTS: During the 12 month period 273 individuals reported to VHWs with an ocular injury and 126 were found to have a corneal abrasion. All 126 were treated with 1% chloramphenicol and 1% clotrimazole ointment three times a day for 3 days, and all healed without sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: Both fungal and bacterial ulcers that occur following traumatic corneal abrasions can be effectively prevented in a village setting by using relatively simple measures that local volunteer public health workers can easily be taught to employ.

Vitreous and aqueous penetration of orally administered moxifloxacin in humans.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the intraocular penetration of moxifloxacin into the aqueous and vitreous after oral administration in humans. METHODS: A prospective, nonrandomized study of 27 consecutive patients scheduled for elective parsplana vitrectomy surgery between 1 October and 31 December 2004 was carried out. Aqueous, vitreous, and serum samples were obtained and analysed after oral administration of a single 400 mg tablet of moxifloxacin a few hours before surgery. Assays were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Mean+/-SD moxifloxacin concentrations in the serum (n=27), aqueous (n=25), and vitreous (n=27) were 1.34+/-0.98, 0.21+/-0.21, and 0.09+/-0.09 microg/ml, respectively. The mean+/-SD sampling times after oral administration of the moxifloxacin tablet for serum, aqueous, and vitreous were 2.02+/-0.51, 1.53+/-0.45, and 1.55+/-0.46 h, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration for 90% of isolates (MIC90) was far exceeded in the aqueous for a wide spectrum of key pathogens, whereas it was not exceeded in the vitreous for several organisms. Of note, the MIC90 for Staphylococcus epidermidis was not exceeded in any of the samples. CONCLUSIONS: Orally administered moxifloxacin achieves measurable levels in the noninflammed human eye, with the aqueous levels effective against a variety of pathogens. However, the spectrum of coverage does not appropriately encompass the most common causative organisms in endophthalmitis, especially Staphylococcus epidermidis. Further studies are needed to precisely define the role of oral moxifloxacin in the treatment of or prophylaxis against intraocular infections.