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Abstract #98868 Published in IGR 22-4
Imaging Methods for the Assessment of a Complex Hydrogel as an Ocular Drug Delivery System for Glaucoma Treatment: Opportunities and Challenges in Preclinical Evaluation
Das S; Saha D; Majumdar S; Giri LMolecular pharmaceutics 2022; 19: 733-748
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of loss of vision. The problems associated with the marketed formulations of anti-glaucoma drugs are low bioavailability, unwanted side effects, and low patient compliance. Hydrogels are an important class of soft materials that play a crucial role in developing an ocular drug delivery system. They assume a special significance in addressing the problems associated with the marketed formulations of eyedrops. An appropriate design of the hydrogel system capable of encapsulating single or multiple drugs for glaucoma has emerged in recent times to overcome such challenges. Although various modes of imaging play critical roles in assessing the efficacy of these formulations, evaluating hydrogels for drug permeation and retention remains challenging. Especially, the assessment of dual drugs in the hydrogel system is not straightforward due to the complexity in measuring drug penetration and retention for or systems. There is a need to develop tools for the fabrication and validation of hydrogel-based systems that give insight into precorneal retention, biocompatibility, cellular uptake, and cell permeation. The current review highlights some of the complexities in formulating hydrogel and benchmarking technologies, including confocal laser scanning microscopy, fluorescent microscopy, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and camera-based imaging. This review also summarizes recent evaluations of various hydrogel formulations using and models. Further the article will help researchers from various disciplines, including formulation scientists and biologists, set up preclinical protocols for evaluating polymeric hydrogels.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Telangana 502285, India.
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