Ciprofloxacin as ocular liposomal hydrogel.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pharmaceutics
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Ocular drug delivery faces challenges with poor bioavailability and frequent administration.
• Liposomal hydrogels offer potential for sustained drug release and improved ocular penetration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare and characterize a prolonged-release liposomal hydrogel formulation of ciprofloxacin for ocular application.
• To optimize liposome composition for enhanced ciprofloxacin encapsulation and in vitro release.
• To evaluate the transcorneal permeation of the ciprofloxacin liposomal hydrogel.

Main Methods:

• Liposomes were prepared using reverse-phase evaporation with soybean phosphatidylcholine (PC) and cholesterol (CH).
• The effects of PC/CH molar ratios and charged additives (stearylamine, dicetyl phosphate) on encapsulation efficiency were investigated.
• In vitro release studies and transcorneal permeation assays using rabbit cornea were performed on the liposomal hydrogel formulation.

Main Results:

• Optimal encapsulation efficiency (73.04%) was achieved with a PC/CH molar ratio of 5:3.
• Positively charged liposomes exhibited superior entrapment efficiency (82.01%) compared to neutral or negatively charged ones.
• The optimized hydrogel formulation showed significant in vitro release and transcorneal permeation (30.6%).

Conclusions:

• Liposome composition significantly influences ciprofloxacin encapsulation and in vitro release kinetics.
• The developed ciprofloxacin liposomal hydrogel provides sustained and prolonged transcorneal permeation.
• This formulation represents a promising strategy for enhancing ocular bioavailability of ciprofloxacin.