Hydrogel Biomaterials for Application in Ocular Drug Delivery

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

Naseer Ally¹  Pierre P. D. Kondiah²  Yahya E. Choonara²  Lisa C. du Toit²  Courtney R. Lynch²  Viness Pillay² 

[1] Division of Ophthalmology, Department of Neurosciences, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa;Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform Research Unit, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, School of Therapeutics Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa;

关键词: biopolymers;    ocular drug delivery;    hydrogel;    nanotechnology;    biomaterials;    safety by design;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fbioe.2020.00228

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

There are many challenges involved in ocular drug delivery. These are a result of the many tissue barriers and defense mechanisms that are present with the eye; such as the cornea, conjunctiva, the blinking reflex, and nasolacrimal drainage system. This leads to many of the conventional ophthalmic preparations, such as eye drops, having low bioavailability profiles, rapid removal from the administration site, and thus ineffective delivery of drugs. Hydrogels have been investigated as a delivery system which is able to overcome some of these challenges. These have been formulated as standalone systems or with the incorporation of other technologies such as nanoparticles. Hydrogels are able to be formulated in such a way that they are able to change from a liquid to gel as a response to a stimulus; known as “smart” or stimuli-responsive biotechnology platforms. Various different stimuli-responsive hydrogel systems are discussed in this article. Hydrogel drug delivery systems are able to be formulated from both synthetic and natural polymers, known as biopolymers. This review focuses on the formulations which incorporate biopolymers. These polymers have a number of benefits such as the fact that they are biodegradable, biocompatible, and non-cytotoxic. The biocompatibility of the polymers is essential for ocular drug delivery systems because the eye is an extremely sensitive organ which is known as an immune privileged site.

【 授权许可】

Unknown