Topical Ocular Delivery of Nanocarriers: A Feasible Choice for Glaucoma Management

Abstract

: Topical ocular delivery is an acceptable and familiar approach for the treatment of common ocular diseases. Novel strategies for the treatment of inherited eye diseases include new pharmacologic agents, gene therapy and genome editing, which lead to expansion of new management options for eye disorders. Topical ocular delivery of nanocarriers is a technique, which has the potential to facilitate novel treatments. Nanocarrier-based strategies have proven effective for site-targeted delivery. This review summarizes recent development in the area of topical delivery of different nanocarriers (Polymer, Vesicular and dispersed systems) for the management of glaucoma, a group of ocular disorders characterized by progressive and accelerated degeneration of the axons of retinal ganglion cells, which make up the optic nerve. Unique cellular targets for glaucoma treatment, primarily the trabecular meshwork of the anterior segment of the eye, make glaucoma facilitated by the use of nanocarriers an ideal disorder for novel molecular therapies.

Applications of Chitosan-Alginate-Based Nanoparticles—An Up-to-Date Review

“…Nonetheless, the eye is protected by several anatomic and physiological barriers (e.g., blinking, different membraneous layers, blood-retinal barrier, choroidal and conjunctival blood flow, lymphatic clearance, lacrimation) that limit the supply of drugs to affected tissues [71,[89][90][91]. Thus, developing nanocarriers for ocular delivery became necessary for improving drugs bioavailability, controlling drug release, decreasing the frequency of administrations, and increasing therapeutic efficiency [71,92,93].…”

Lipid Nanoparticles as a Promising Drug Delivery Carrier for Topical Ocular Therapy—An Overview on Recent Advances

“…Drugs are frequently administered through periocular routes by subconjunctival, intrascleral, sub-Tenon’s retrobulbar, and peribulbar injections to deliver them directly to posterior ocular tissues, thus, avoiding the risks of endophthalmitis and retinal damage [ 22 ]. Various dosage forms, such as eye drops, hydrogels, in situ gels, nanoparticles, nano micelles, polymeric ocular inserts, implants, dendrimers, nanosuspensions, and microneedles, have been developed to improve ocular bioavailability by prolonging the precorneal residence time and corneal penetration of the applied drugs [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”