To the Editor.
—We recently described the antibacterial effects of cyanoacrylate glue in the June Archives.1 In that article we reported that enbucrilate (butyl-2-cyanoacrylate; Histoacryl [West Germany], no comparable US product) exhibited bacteriostatic activity against gram-positive organisms but not against gram-negative organisms.Several inexpensive cyanoacrylates are now available from Japan. We tested the antimicrobial effect of ultra-quick-setting methyl cyanocarylate, ultra-quick-setting ethyl cyanoacrylate, quick-setting ethyl cyanoacrylate, and butyl cyanoacrylate.There was no substantial difference among any of these compounds with respect to gram-positive organisms; however, butyl cyanoacrylate showed bacteriostatic activity against Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter aerogenes. We treated two patients with gram-negative ulcers with impending perforation with butyl cyanoacrylate without complications. These compounds may prove to be effective adjunctive treatment in corneal disease.