Advances in nanomedicine for ocular inflammatory diseases

Eye inflammation, including dry eye disease, uveitis, and post-operative inflammation, is a major cause of visual impairment worldwide. Conventional ocular therapies are limited by anatomical barriers, rapid tear clearance, and poor tissue penetration, resulting in low drug bioavailability and inadequate therapeutic duration. Systemic administration and invasive injections further reduce patient compliance due to adverse effects and discomfort. Nanomedicine offers a promising strategy to overcome these limitations by enhancing ocular retention, improving targeted delivery, and reducing dosing frequency. The performance of nanocarriers is strongly influenced by their size, surface characteristics, and material composition. This review highlights recent advances in nanoscale drug delivery systems (DDs) for ocular inflammation, including lipid-based carriers, liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, dendrimers, and inorganic platforms. Despite significant progress, clinical translation remains constrained by challenges such as long-term safety, scalability, storage stability, regulatory approval, cost-effectiveness, and patient acceptability.