Pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin in rabbit after intravenous, intramuscular, and subcutaneous administration

The disposition kinetics of marbofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, after intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (SC) administration was determined in rabbits at a single dose of 2mg/kg. Plasma concentrations of marbofloxacin were determined by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The concentration–time data were analysed by compartmental and non-compartmental pharmacokinetic methods. Steady-state volume of distribution (Vss) and clearance (Cl) of marbofloxacin after IV administration were 1.99±0.27L/kg and 0.42±0.04L/hkg, respectively. Following IM and SC administration marbofloxacin achieved maximum plasma concentrations of 2.04±0.32 and 1.64±0.15mg/L at 0.33±0.16 and 0.50±0.18h, respectively. The absolute bioavailabilities after IM and SC routes were 123.30±17.64% and 114.81±12.11%, respectively. From these data (kinetic parameters and absence of adverse reactions) marbofloxacin is likely to be effective in rabbits.