A novel approach to achieve semi-sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lenses
Soft contact lenses are increasingly being explored as a vehicle for controlled delivery of ophthalmic drugs. However, traditional methods of drug-loading by soaking have limitations such as burst delivery and the release of drugs at the front side of the lens, leading to poor drug efficacy and syst...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023041233 |
| _version_ | 1797807157950808064 |
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| author | Malake Sarmout Yutang Xiao Xiao Hu Aiym Rakhmetova Leo H. Koole |
| author_facet | Malake Sarmout Yutang Xiao Xiao Hu Aiym Rakhmetova Leo H. Koole |
| author_sort | Malake Sarmout |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soft contact lenses are increasingly being explored as a vehicle for controlled delivery of ophthalmic drugs. However, traditional methods of drug-loading by soaking have limitations such as burst delivery and the release of drugs at the front side of the lens, leading to poor drug efficacy and systemic side effects. This study introduces a new methodology, termed asymmetric drug loading, whereby the ophthalmic drug ‘Rebamipide’ is attached to and released from the post-lens (=cornea-contacting) surface exclusively. The methodology involves using polymeric microparticles that carry a lipophilic crystalline ophthalmic drug at their surface. These drug-loaded microparticles first transfer the drug to the concave surface of the contact lens, and when worn, the drug is transferred again, now from the lens to the cornea. This is achieved through the diffusion of the drug from one hydrophobic microenvironment (the silicone moieties of the contact lens polymer network) to another hydrophobic microenvironment (the corneal epithelium) over a short pathway. The second drug transfer was observed and studied in experiments using an ex vivo porcine eye model. The results show that the drug amount that was absorbed by the cornea after applying the rebamipide-loaded contact lenses is approximately 3× (10.7 ± 3.1 μg) as much as the amount of rebamipide that gets transferred after the instillation of one eye drop (1% solution (p < 0.001). The new drug-loading method offers a practical and reproducible means of delivering ophthalmic drugs to the cornea through soft contact lenses. The drug payloads achieved are comparable to dosages used during eye drop therapy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:18:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1db8c5453e96444ba1fb518b8cbccaac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:18:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-1db8c5453e96444ba1fb518b8cbccaac2023-06-10T04:28:11ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402023-06-0196e16916A novel approach to achieve semi-sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lensesMalake Sarmout0Yutang Xiao1Xiao Hu2Aiym Rakhmetova3Leo H. Koole4Innovative Engineering Laboratory for Ocular Drug Delivery, Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou, ChinaInnovative Engineering Laboratory for Ocular Drug Delivery, Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou, ChinaInnovative Engineering Laboratory for Ocular Drug Delivery, Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou, ChinaInnovative Engineering Laboratory for Ocular Drug Delivery, Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou, ChinaCorresponding author. The Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry, School of Biomedical Engineering, 270 Xueyuan Road, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325027, China.; Innovative Engineering Laboratory for Ocular Drug Delivery, Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou, ChinaSoft contact lenses are increasingly being explored as a vehicle for controlled delivery of ophthalmic drugs. However, traditional methods of drug-loading by soaking have limitations such as burst delivery and the release of drugs at the front side of the lens, leading to poor drug efficacy and systemic side effects. This study introduces a new methodology, termed asymmetric drug loading, whereby the ophthalmic drug ‘Rebamipide’ is attached to and released from the post-lens (=cornea-contacting) surface exclusively. The methodology involves using polymeric microparticles that carry a lipophilic crystalline ophthalmic drug at their surface. These drug-loaded microparticles first transfer the drug to the concave surface of the contact lens, and when worn, the drug is transferred again, now from the lens to the cornea. This is achieved through the diffusion of the drug from one hydrophobic microenvironment (the silicone moieties of the contact lens polymer network) to another hydrophobic microenvironment (the corneal epithelium) over a short pathway. The second drug transfer was observed and studied in experiments using an ex vivo porcine eye model. The results show that the drug amount that was absorbed by the cornea after applying the rebamipide-loaded contact lenses is approximately 3× (10.7 ± 3.1 μg) as much as the amount of rebamipide that gets transferred after the instillation of one eye drop (1% solution (p < 0.001). The new drug-loading method offers a practical and reproducible means of delivering ophthalmic drugs to the cornea through soft contact lenses. The drug payloads achieved are comparable to dosages used during eye drop therapy.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023041233Ocular drug deliveryContact lensDrug-eluting contact lensMicroparticlesCorneaRebamipide |
| spellingShingle | Malake Sarmout Yutang Xiao Xiao Hu Aiym Rakhmetova Leo H. Koole A novel approach to achieve semi-sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lenses Heliyon Ocular drug delivery Contact lens Drug-eluting contact lens Microparticles Cornea Rebamipide |
| title | A novel approach to achieve semi-sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lenses |
| title_full | A novel approach to achieve semi-sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lenses |
| title_fullStr | A novel approach to achieve semi-sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lenses |
| title_full_unstemmed | A novel approach to achieve semi-sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lenses |
| title_short | A novel approach to achieve semi-sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lenses |
| title_sort | novel approach to achieve semi sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lenses |
| topic | Ocular drug delivery Contact lens Drug-eluting contact lens Microparticles Cornea Rebamipide |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023041233 |
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