Abstract

OCULAR DRUG DELIVERY: AN UPDATE REVIEW

Sarika S. Lokhande*, Namita N. Phalke*, Savita S. More and Vijay N. Raje

Abstract

The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the current knowledge within this field of ocular drug delivery. Drug delivery to eye has always been a daunting task in the field of pharmaceutical research due to distinctive anatomy and physiology of the eye. One of the major problems encountered by usual ocular dosage forms include rapid precorneal drug loss due to nasolacrimal drainage, tear turnover and drug dilution resulting in poor bioavailability. Therefore to improve the ocular drug bioavailability, considerable amount of research has been focused in developing controlled drug delivery systems. These hard works led to development of new drug delivery dosage forms such as nanoparticles, liposomes, hydrogels, ocuserts and mucoadhesive formulations. Controlled drug delivery systems offer many advantages over usual dosage forms in terms of improving drug bioavailability, reducing toxicity and decreasing dosage frequency.

Keywords: Ocular drug delivery, Controlled and sustained drug delivery, Ocular barriers, Anatomy of eye, drug diffusion.