The major purpose of this study was to develop and characterize a series of carbopol- and methyl cellulose-based solutions as the in situ gelling vehicles for ophthalmic drug delivery. The rheological properties, in vitro release as well as in vivo pharmacological response of a combination of polymer solutions, including carbopol and methyl cellulose, were evaluated. It was found that the optimum concentration of carbopol solution for the in situ gel-forming delivery systems was 0.3% (w/w), and that for methyl cellulose solution was 1.5% (w/w). The mixture of 0.3% carbopol and 1.5% methyl cellulose solutions showed a significant enhancement in gel strength in the physiological condition; this gel mixture was also found to be free flowing at pH 4.0 and 25 degrees C. The rheological behaviors of carbopol/methyl cellulose solution were not affected by the incorporation of the drug. Drug levels in the aqueous humor of the rabbits were well above the MIC-values of relevant bacteria after 12 hours, the results of an optimized formulation containing 0.18% of pefloxacin mesylate compared well with the 0.3% marketed eye drop formulation, indicating our formulation to be significantly better considering that a similar effect was obtained at half the concentration. Both the in vitro release and in vivo pharmacological studies indicated that the carbopol/methyl cellulose solution had better ability to retain drug than did the carbopol or methyl cellulose solutions alone. The results demonstrated that the carbopol/methyl cellulose mixture can be used as an in situ gelling vehicle to enhance the ocular bioavailability of pefloxacin mesylate.