Creation of nano eye-drops and effective drug delivery to the interior of the eye

Abstract

Nano eye-drops are a new type of ophthalmic treatment with increased potency and reduced side effects. Compounds in conventional eye-drops barely penetrate into the eye because the cornea, located at the surface of eye, has a strong barrier function for preventing invasion of hydrophilic or large-sized materials from the outside. In this work, we describe the utility of nano eye-drops utilising brinzolamide, a commercially available glaucoma treatment drug, as a target compound. Fabrication of the nanoparticles of brinzolamide prodrug increases the eye penetration rate and results in high drug efficacy, compared with that of commercially available brinzolamide eye-drops formulated as micro-sized structures. In addition, the resulting nano eye-drops were not toxic to the corneal epithelium after repeated administration for 1 week. The nano eye-drops may have applications as a next-generation ophthalmic treatment.