Polyvinyl alcohol membrane permeability characteristics of 5-fluorouracil.

5-fluorouracil is a useful new treatment modality in the difficult glaucoma filtering patient. However, its use is attended by a high incidence of complications principally involving the corneal epithelium. The pharmacokinetics of this drug suggest that a sustained release delivery system might avoid many of these problems if it could produce therapeutic levels in the subconjunctival space while avoiding toxic levels in the cornea and other ocular structures. In vitro studies of release rates for polyvinyl alcohol membranes suggest that this material could form the basis of such a delivery system.