Ophthalmic Flashcards
Delivery routes to the eye
Topical
Intravitreal
Subconjunctival
Subchordial
Suprachordial
Topical ocular delivery goals
Target the site of action
Prolong residence time
Decrease frequency
Improve patient compliance
Eye drop advantages
Each access and localized effect
Avoid 1st pass metabolism and system side effects
Eye drop disadvantages
Efficient clearance mechanisms
Hood-occupation barriers
Posterior eye diseases harder to treat
Barriers to topical drug delivery
Cornea—major barrier
Iris—melanin binds drugs
Tear duct—nasolacrimal clearance
Conjunctiva—vascular, increased clearance
Ciliary body—produces aqueous humor
Cornea as a barrier
Epithelium—lipophilic
Stroma—hydrophilic
The tear film
Lipid belayer—protective
Aqueous layer—anti-bacterial
Mucus layer—adherence
Protein composition influences viscosity
Blinking replaces tear film
Irritating drugs stimulate reflex blinking and faster elimination
Nasolacrimal drainage
Every time you blink drugs are cleared with tears and sent to the nasal cavity
Aqueous humor
Constant flow of solution clears the drug
Vitreous humor
Hydrogel
Not a lot of flow, only diffusion
Excellent culture for bacteria
Poor penetration of antibiotics
Conjunctiva
Drug loss via pre-corneal clearance due to large blood supply
Choroid
Highly vascularized
Allows for systemic clearance through blood
Physiological factors of drug uptake
Tear film and nasolacrimal drainage
Blinking
Protein binding
Metabolism and efflux
Conjunctival loss
Formulation factors for drugs in the eye
Instilled volume
Drugs and adjuvants
Surface tension
Osmolality
PH
Viscosity
Instilled volume
Smaller volume—>slower drainage—> increased residence time
Ideally high concentration of drug in small volume