PLGA nanoparticles for ocular delivery of loteprednol etabonate: a corneal penetration study

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to develop loteprednol etabonate (LE) loaded poly(d,l-lactide co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) and study their penetration profile into the excised goat cornea. In the present study, LE loaded PLGA NPs were prepared by solvent evaporation with high speed homogenization method and the penetration profile was studied using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Rhodamine (Rd) was used as a fluorescent marker to prepare Rd-LE–PLGA-NPs. The NPs were characterized for particle size, X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), drug entrapment, and permeation profile. Intense fluorescence observed across the depths of goat corneal tissue suggested an improved penetration profile of NPs. The entrapment efficiency and mean diameter of the optimized formulation (F5) were found to be 96.31 ± 1.68% and 167.6 ± 0.37 nm, respectively. These findings indicate that LE loaded PLGA NPs may serve as a potential drug carrier for ocular administration in eye disease.

Keywords:

• CLSM
• corneal penetration
• loteprednol etabonate
• nanoparticle
• ocular delivery
• PLGA

Disclosure statement

The authors report that this article has no conflict of interest.

Funding information

One of the authors (AKS) is thankful to the University Grant Commission (UGC) New Delhi, India, for awarding the Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) during the doctoral program. Authors are also grateful to the Director, University Institute of Pharmacy, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur (C.G.), India for the infrastructure facilities. The authors extend their sincere thanks to Dr. Padam Jain, Senior Veterinary Surgeon for his valuable assistance in conducting corneal excision. Authors acknowledge Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, India and School of Studies in Biotechnology, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur (C.G.) for CLSM and Histopathology studies, respectively. The authors gratefully acknowledge Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facility (SAIF), Punjab University for TEM facility and M/s Sun Pharma Advance Research Center (SPARC), Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India for providing the gift samples of Loteprednol etabonate.