Human eye is one of the most accessible organs in the body, nonetheless, its physiology and associated precorneal factors such as nasolacrimal drainage, blinking, tear film, tear turnover, and induced lacrimation has significantly decreased the residence time of any foreign substances including pharmaceutical dosage forms. Soft contact lenses are promising delivery devices that can sustain the drug release and prolong residence time by acting as a geometric barrier to drug diffusion to tear fluid. This study investigates experimental parameters such as composition of polymer mixtures, stabilizer and the amount of active pharmaceutical ingredient on the preparation of a polymeric drug delivery system for the topical ocular administration of Prednisolone. To achieve this goal, prednisolone-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles were prepared by single emulsion solvent evaporation method. Prednisolone was quantified using a validated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Nanoparticle size was mostly affected by the amount of co-polymer (PLGA) used whereas drug load was mostly affected by amount of prednisolone (API) used. Longer homogenization time along with higher amount of API yielded the smallest size nanoparticles. The nanoparticles prepared had an average particle size of 347.1 ± 11.9 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.081. The nanoparticles were then incorporated in the contact lens mixture before preparing them. Clear and transparent contact lenses were successfully prepared. When the nanoparticle (NP)-loaded contact lenses were compared with control contact lenses (unloaded NP contact lenses), a decrease in hydration by 2% (31.2% ± 1.25% hydration for the 0.2 g loaded NP contact lenses) and light transmission by 8% (unloaded NP contact lenses 94.5% NP 0.2 g incorporated contact lenses 86.23%). The wettability of the contact lenses remained within the desired value (<90 °C) even upon incorporation of the NP. NP alone and NP-loaded contact lenses both displayed a slow in vitro drug release of drug over 24 h; where 42.3% and 10.8% prednisolone release were achieved, respectively. Contact lenses can be used as a medicated device to sustain ocular drug delivery and improve patient compliance; nonetheless, patients and healthcare professionals’ acceptability and perceptions of the new formulations entail further investigations.

Although conventional eye drops comprise over 90% of the marketed ocular dosage forms, they do have limitations, such as poor ocular drug bioavailability and systemic side effects; contact lenses are amongst the new delivery systems and devices that could overcome some of these problems. The most common approach to load drug molecules into contact lenses includes soaking in a drug solution. This approach had some success, but failed to achieve controlled/sustained drug release to the eye. On [corrected] the other hand, nanoreservoir systems comprising nanoparticles, cyclodextrins, liposomes or surfactant aggregates being incorporated into the contact lenses could offer a plausible solution. This review highlights the status quo with contact lenses as ocular drug-delivery carriers and identifies possible future directions.

Medical-grade poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is extensively employed in the fabrication of a variety of medical implants, including intraocular lenses (IOLs). However, a postoperative complication that leads to the failure of the implanted intraocular lenses has been recently identified. This process, termed calcification, occurs when calcium-containing deposits accumulate on the surface of the IOL. In this study direct gas fluorination was used to modify the surface of PMMA in an attempt to increase the service lifetime of the material in optical applications. PMMA discs exposed to a 20% fluorine/nitrogen gas mixture for 24 h were compared with untreated PMMA discs serving as control samples. Over time, both surface-fluorinated and untreated PMMA samples immersed in a simulated aqueous humour solution (SAHS) (pH 7.4, 35˚C) were used to carry out in vitro studies. Attenuated total refractive Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coupled with Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), showed that calcium-containing surface deposits were less abundant on surface-fluorinated PMMA compared with the control samples, indicating that the fluorinated surface was acting as a barrier to the deposits. Gravimetric analysis data showed that the decreased rate of diffusion compared with that of a control sample was due to the fluorinated surface.

Within developing countries the most cost-effective polymer used in the fabrication of rigid intraocular lenses (IOLs) is poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), for which gamma irradiation is increasingly being used as the preferred method of sterilisation. Medical grade PMMA samples sterilised using a dose of 29kGy of gamma irradiation, were immersed in a simulated aqueous humour solution (SAHS) (pH 7.4, 35 °C), and periodically removed to assess changes in their thermal and structural properties with respect to control samples. Triple-detection gel permeation chromatography indicated that substantial chain scission had occurred during gamma irradiation, an adverse effect that also resulted in a small increase in the rate of diffusion of the SAHS into the PMMA. The diffusion coefficient of SAHS into the gamma-sterilised PMMA was 2.7 ± 0.6 × 10−12 m2s−1, and that for the control samples was 2.0 ± 0.5 × 10−12 m2 s−1. Thermomechanical analysis revealed a decreasing Tg with time for samples incubated in SAHS, showing that the solution caused plasticisation irrespective of irradiation; however, the γ-sterilised PMMA had a Tg 7 °C lower than the control PMMA, which indicates the effect of the γ-irradiation on the rigidity of the polymer.

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