Nanomicellar eye drops: a review of recent advances

Abstract

Introduction: Research on nanotechnology in medicine has also involved the ocular field and nanomicelles are among the applications developed. This approach is used to increase both the water solubility of hydrophobic drugs and their penetration/permeation within/through the ocular tissues since nanomicelles are able to encapsulate insoluble drug into their core and their small size allows them to penetrate and/or diffuse through the aqueous pores of ocular tissues.

Areas covered: The present review reports the most significant and recent literature on the use of nanomicelles, made up of both surfactants and amphiphilic polymers, to overcome limitations imposed by the physiology of the eye in achieving a high bioavailability of drugs intended for the therapeutic areas of greatest commercial interest: dry eye, inflammation, and glaucoma.

Expert opinion: The results of the numerous studies in this field are encouraging and demonstrate that nanomicelles may be the answer to some of the challenges of ocular therapy. In the future, new molecules self-assembling into micelles will be able to meet the regulatory requirements for marketing authorization for their use in ophthalmic formulations.

Keywords: Nanomicelles; amphiphilic polymers; dry eye syndrome; glaucoma; ocular inflammation; surfactants.