Liposomal dexamethasone–moxifloxacin nanoparticle combinations with collagen/gelatin/alginate hydrogel for corneal infection treatment and wound healing

Abstract

Infectious keratitis is still one of the major causes of visual impairment and blindness, often affecting developing countries. Eye-drop therapy to reduce disease progression is the first line of treatment for infectious keratitis. The current limitations in controlling ophthalmic infections include rapid precorneal drug loss and the inability to provide long-term extraocular drug delivery. The aim of the present study was to develop a novel ophthalmic formulation to treat corneal infection. The formulation was prepared by constructing moxifloxacin (MFX) and dexamethasone (DEX)-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (Lipo-MFX/DEX) mixed with a collagen/gelatin/alginate (CGA) biodegradable material (CGA-Lipo-MFX/DEX) for prolonged ocular application. The characteristics of the prepared Lipo-MFX/DEX nanoparticles were as follows: average size, 132.1 ± 73.58 nm; zeta potential, −6.27 ± 4.95 mV; entrapment efficiency, 91.5 ± 3.5%; drug content, 18.1 ± 1.7%. Our results indicated that CGA-Lipo-MFX/DEX could release an effective working concentration in 60 min and sustain the drug release for at least 12 h. CGA-Lipo-MFX/DEX did not produce significant toxicities, but it increased cell numbers when co-cultured with ocular epithelial cells. An animal study also confirmed that CGA-Lipo-MFX/DEX could inhibit pathogen microorganism growth and improve corneal wound healing. Our results suggest that CGA-Lipo-MFX/DEX could be a useful anti-inflammatory formulation for ophthalmological disease treatment.

Hyaluronan-Loaded Liposomal Dexamethasone–Diclofenac Nanoparticles for Local Osteoarthritis Treatment

“…The protocol for preparing liposomal antibiotics was as described previously [51]. Briefly, 5 mg hydrophobic DEX combined with 7.7 mg cholesterol and 110.6 mg DOPC (molar ratio = 14:15:2) were solved in 5 mL methylene chloride.…”

“…The complete liposomes with negative surface charges could inhibit the aggregation or surface repulsion due to similarly charged particles [51,52]. Zeta potential indicates the overall charge present and stability of liposomal systems.…”

“…The in vitro release profiles of DIC or DEX from the HA-Lipo-DIC/DEX were studied as described previously [51,56]. Briefly, 2 mL volume of HA-Lipo-DIC/DEX were placed in a dialysis bag (molecular weight cutoff 3.5 kDa), and the dialysis bag was incubated in 50 mL of PBS (pH~7.4) with gentle stirring at 37 • C, and the release medium was collected at predetermined time intervals.…”

Tissue Engineering Meets Nanotechnology: Molecular Mechanism Modulations in Cornea Regeneration

“…There is also evidence that the retention time of the antifungal drug natamika delivered via chitosan nanoparticles in the corneal epithelial layer is 1.5 times longer than when using a commercial treatment method [117]. Speaking about antibiotics, quinolones moxifloxacin [118,119], sparfloxacin [120], and levofloxacin [121] demonstrated increased bioavailability when delivered via nanocarriers; better corneal permeability was reported as well. Sometimes nanoparticles can even be used as an alternative to antibiotics, for example, as silver ones can, known for their remarkable antiseptic properties [122].…”

Appraising the Competency of Lipid Nano-Platforms as Non-invasive Paradigms for the Treatment of Ocular Inflammations: A review

“…An in vitro bacterial culture was incubated with the tested samples and evaluated in comparison to negative controls. The inhibition efficiency was often determined either by analyzing the change in concentration of the bacterial suspension using a UV spectrophotometer at a certain wavelength and/or by applying the direct-colony counting method [65]. The inhibition efficiency (%) was calculated by the following equation:…”