In vitro and in vivo evaluation of an intraocular implant for glaucoma treatment.

Implantable disks for glaucoma treatment were prepared by blending poly(ɛ-caprolactone), PCL, poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) and dorzolamide. Their in vivo performance was assessed by their capacity to decrease intraocular pressure (IOP) in normotensive and hypertensive eyes. Drug mapping showed that release was complete from blend disks and the low molecular weight (MW) PCL after 1 month in vivo. The high MW PCL showed non-cumulative release rates above the therapeutic level during 3 months in vitro. In vivo, the fibrous capsule formation around the implant controls the drug release, working as a barrier membrane. Histologic analysis showed normal foreign body reaction response to the implants. In normotensive eyes, a 20% decrease in IOP obtained with the disks during 1 month was similar to Trusopt eyedrops treatment. In hypertensive eyes, the most sustained decrease was shown by the high MW PCL (40% after 1 month, 30% after 2 months). It was shown that the implants can lower IOP in sustained manner in a rabbit glaucoma model.

A poly(ε-caprolactone) device for sustained release of an anti-glaucoma drug.

Implantable dorzolamide-loaded discs were prepared by blending poly(ε-caprolactone), PCL, with poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide), Lu. By blending, crystallinity, water uptake and mass loss were modified relative to the pure polymers. Burst was diminished by coating the discs with a PCL shell. All samples presented burst release except PCL-coated samples that showed controlled release during 18 days. For PCL-coated samples, barrier control of diffusion coupled with partition control from the core slowed down the release, while for 50/50 Lu/PCL-coated samples, the enhancement in the porosity of the core diminished partition control of drug release. Nonlinear regression analysis suggested that a degradation model fully describes the release curve considering a triphasic release mechanism: the instantaneous diffusion (burst), diffusion and polymer degradation stages. The MTT test indicated that the materials are not cytotoxic for corneal endothelial cells. A good in vitro-in vivo correlation was obtained, with similar amounts of drug released in vitro and in vivo. The discs decreased intraocular pressure (IOP) in normotensive rabbit eyes by 13.0% during 10 days for PCL-coated and by 13.0% during 4 days for 50/50 Lu/PCL-coated samples. The percentages of IOP decrease are similar to those obtained by dorzolamide eyedrop instillation (11.0%).

Effects of drug solubility, state and loading on controlled release in bicomponent electrospun fibers.

Bicomponent fibers of two semi-crystalline (co)polymers, poly(varepsilon-caprolactone), and poly(oxyethylene-b-oxypropylene-b-oxyethylene), were obtained by electrospinning. Acetazolamide and timolol maleate were loaded in the fibers in different concentrations (below and above the drug solubility limit in polymer) in order to determine the effect of drug solubility in polymer, drug state, drug loading and fiber composition on fiber morphology, drug distribution and release kinetics. The high loadings fibers (with drug in crystalline form) showed higher burst and faster release than low drug content fibers, indicating the release was more sustained when the drug was encapsulated inside the fibers, in amorphous form. Moreover, timolol maleate was released faster than acetazolamide, indicating that drug solubility in polymer influences the partition of drug between polymer and elution medium, while fiber composition also controlled drug release. At low loadings, total release was not achieved (cumulative release percentages smaller than 100%), suggesting that drug remained trapped in the fibers. The modeling of release data implied a three stage release mechanism: a dissolution stage, a desorption and subsequent diffusion through water-filled pores, followed by polymer degradation control.

Controlled release gelatin hydrogels and lyophilisates with potential application as ocular inserts.

Hydrogels and lyophilisates were obtained by chemical crosslinking of gelatin using N-hydroxysuccinimide and N, N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride. The systems were characterized with respect to the degree of crosslinking, morphology, water uptake, in vitro drug release and biocompatibility studies. Pilocarpine hydrochloride, a drug for the treatment of glaucoma, was loaded by soaking in an aqueous solution containing the drug. In vitro, the released drug percentage varied between 29.2% and 99.2% in 8 h of study. The release data were fitted to the Korsmeyer-Peppas equation to calculate the release exponent, which indicated anomalous transport for the release of pilocarpine. The corneal endothelial cell culture tests indicated that the prepared biomaterials are not cytotoxic.