SPECIFICITY OF FLURBIPROFEN AND ENANTIOMERS FOR INHIBITION OF PROSTAGLANDIN SYNTHESIS IN BOVINE IRIS/CILIARY BODY

Abstract In the eye, prostaglandin production, as stimulated by trauma, is caused by the activity of the constitutive enzyme cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), present in the iris/ciliary body. For flurbiprofen, a nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), used in eye drops, the specificity of racemic flurbiprofen and the enantiomers S(+) and R(−) flurbiprofen in their inhibitory effect on COX-1 was studied, using bovine iris/ciliary body as source of the enzyme. S(+) is 100 times more potent in COX-1 inhibition than R(−). The measured effect of R(−) is not caused by metabolic inversion of inactive R(−) to active S(+) during the assay.