Extensive accumulation of drugs by melanin appears to be the most
important factor governing the long term therapeutic/toxicological
activities. Drugs crossing placental circulation are localized in the
mouse fetal eye. Thus, drugs exhibit a high binding capacity for
melanin containing tissues. The eye contains the highest amount of
melanin compared to any tissue in the body. Studies on synthetic
melanin and melanin granules also indicated a high binding
capacity of many therapeutic classes of drugs, including
psychotropics. In addition to the liposoluble property of the
molecule, there is a definite relationship between chemical structure
and the affinity of drugs for melanin. For example, the affinity of
chlorpromazine for melanin is higher than that of chlorprothixene.
OcuTox has a lot experience in drug-melanin interaction in eye
tissues in health and disease.