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Silicone hydrogels deliver drugs for 2 weeks without compromising lenses
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Model silicone hydrogel materials prepared with atropine and roscovitine to treat myopia and retinoblastoma may eliminate the need for regular drop instillation and allow for the drug concentration to be maintained in the tear film, according to Lasowski and colleagues in Optometry and Vision Science.
The researchers found that up to 2 wt% of the drugs can be incorporated into model silicone hydrogel materials without adversely affecting critical materials such as water uptake, light transmission and surface hydrophilicity.
Equilibrium water content ranged from 15% to 32%, and transmission exceeded 89% for materials with at least 70% N,N-dimethylacrylamide, according to researchers.
Both drugs were released more than 14 days, with the total amount released ranging from 16% to more than 76%.
“The drug releases can be altered based on both the monomer content and ratio of hydrophobic to hydrophilic components...the release was shown to also vary based on structure and nature of the therapeutic itself, as well as its loading concentration,” the researchers concluded. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosure: The researchers reported financial support from the 20/20 NSERC Ophthalmic Materials Research Network.
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