Emerging Trends in Ocular Drug Delivery: A Review on Recent Updates

Abstract

The distance from cornea to retina (1.7 cm) appears to be the difficult path for most of the small molecule therapeutics. Ocular drug delivery is extreme difficult task owing to complexity and intricate barriers of the eye. However, there is an urgency and need to overcome these barriers for the treatment of sight threatening ocular complications. Delivery of drugs through topical application is compromised by physiological, static, dynamic and metabolic barriers. Currently, intravitreal therapy is a gold standard for targeting therapeutic entities to the posterior segment of the eye. Various viable platforms using topical non-invasive to invasive techniques are currently under development and may progress into efficient delivery platforms. In this review, recent advances/developments in ocular delivery were discussed.

Soft Contact Lenses as Drug Delivery Systems: A Review

“…Thus, poly-2-hydroxyl ethyl methacrylate (pHEMA) wettability has been slightly increased due to glycosyl methylate (GMA) copolymerisation instead of a slight reduction when β-CD was added [ 39 , 41 ]. On the other hand, no significant change in the contact angle value was recorded when timolol maleate and acetazolamide were applied by the supercritical solvent impregnation technique [ 3 ].…”

“…In addition, they require repeated daily administration, which, combined with low patient compliance, causes doses to be avoided or administered incorrectly, contrary to therapeutic recommendations. Attempts to increase the bioavailability of ophthalmic medicines by using various modern solutions such as viscous solutions, suspensions, emulsions, ointments, gels, polymer inserts, and colloidal systems are still unsatisfactorily challenging in pharmaceutical research [ 3 ]. Hence, the use of contact lenses as drug delivery systems has been increasingly explored in recent years [ 4 ].…”

“…The dynamic of this research is evidenced by the number of publications that appear in scientific journals. Table 1 summarises the review papers that have been published in recent years [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”

A prospective contralateral eye comparison of the tolerability of two artificial tears with different physical properties in patients with dry eye disease

“…Artificial tears (ATs) are widely used in ophthalmic practice with various formulations, mainly as a treatment for dry eye, owing to their rapid ability to alleviate the signs and symptoms of this condition [1,2]. The formulation used in AT production alters the physical properties of ATs, such as viscosity, pH, osmolality, and density, which affect the bioavailability of the products [3,4]. In addition, manufacturers should consider the tolerability and stability of the final production of ATs to ensure that the main goal of treatment can be achieved [5].…”