No abstract

At present, ophthalmic drug delivery remains a major challenge, given the eye's protective structure and susceptibility to irritation, resulting in poor patient adherence. In order to overcome these constraints, new formulations are continually being developed. The inclusion of Galactoxyloglucan (Tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP) in such formulations, a natural substance extracted from the seeds of Tamarindus indica, has shown great potential due to its physicochemical properties, high biocompatibility and safety profile. Such properties, have led to its use in formulations for the treatment of dry eye disease, glaucoma, and bacterial keratitis, as well as in dilating eye drops used in eye examinations. In this article, we highlight the most recent TSPbased ophthalmologic formulations, which indicate that this polymer is a strong candidate to reduce adverse effects, improve patient tolerability and drug bioavailability.

In the hospital environment, postoperative pain is a common occurrence that impairs patient recovery and rehabilitation and lengthens hospitalization time. Racemic bupivacaine hydrochloride (CBV) and Novabupi® (NBV) (S (-) 75% R (+) 25% bupivacaine hydrochloride) are two examples of local anesthetics used in pain management, the latter being an alternative with less deleterious effects. In the present study, biodegradable implants were developed using Poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) through a hot molding technique, evaluating their physicochemical properties and their in vitro drug release. Different proportions of drugs and polymer were tested, and the proportion of 25%:75% was the most stable for molding the implants. Thermal and spectrometric analyses were performed, and they revealed no unwanted chemical interactions between drugs and polymer. They also confirmed that heating and freeze-drying used for manufacturing did not interfere with stability. The in vitro release results revealed drugs sustained release, reaching 64% for NBV-PLGA and 52% for CBV-PLGA up to 30 days. The drug release mechanism was confirmed by microscopy, which involved pores formation and polymeric erosion, visualized in the first 72 h of the in vitro release test. These findings suggest that the developed implants are interesting alternatives to control postoperative pain efficiently.