Nano Medicine For Ocular Drug Delivery

Abstract

Ocular drug delivery remains a major challenge due to the eye’s complex anatomical and physiological barriers, which significantly limit drug penetration and bioavailability. Conventional ocular dosage forms such as eye drops exhibit poor therapeutic efficiency, with less than 5% of the administered dose reaching the target site because of rapid tear turnover, nasolacrimal drainage and corneal barriers. Management of chronic ocular diseases often requires frequent dosing, resulting in poor patient compliance, local irritation and systemic side effects. Delivering drugs to the posterior segment of the eye is even more difficult because of the blood-retinal barrier, while invasive approaches like intravitreal injections are associated with complications such as retinal detachment, haemorrhage and infection. Nanotechnology-based ocular drug delivery systems have emerged as a promising strategy to overcome these limitations. Nanocarriers including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, nano micelles and solid lipid nanoparticles enhance drug stability, improve corneal penetration, prolong precorneal retention time and provide sustained mucoadhesive polymers and targeting ligands further enhances site-specific delivery to both anterior and posterior ocular tissues. Thus, nanomedicine offers a transformative approach for improving ocular therapeutics, increasing patient compliance and achieving more effective management of ocular diseases.