Improvement of Entrapment and Ocular Permeability of Ganciclovir Nanostructured Lipid Carriers Using Various Conditions of Preparations

Abstract

Ganciclovir (GCV) is a drug included in BCS-Class III, having high solubility and low permeability. It is a synthetic acyclic nucleoside analog of 2′-deoxyguanosine, considered a potent inhibitor of herpes viruses and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are very common and are also considered a major cause of corneal blindness. This study intended to advance a pioneering nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) system for improving the ocular permeability of GCV. Several procedures were used for the preparation. Cold homogenization, solvent injection, and emulsifi cationultrasonication methods. A mixture of palmitic acid (PA) and oleic acid (OA) as a lipid matrix, cremophore EL, and transcutol HP were used as emulsifi ers. To evaluate the optimum method, the particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP), entrapment effi ciency (EE), and drug loading (DL%) were determined for the prepared NLCs. Due to the decreased particle size value, the polydispersity index, and the high value of EE%, emulsifi cation/ultrasonication outcomes were more practical than cold homogenization and solvent injection procedures. The fi ndings demonstrated that the preparation procedure had a substantial impact on the EE%.The emulsifi cation method can prepare the NLCs of GCV successfully.