Application of Biocompatible Nanocarriers in Glaucoma: Challenges and Advances

Abstract

Glaucoma is a serious and complex eye disorder with worldwide occurrence in the aging societies and if left untreated at a precise time may lead to the irreversible loss of vision placing great financial burden on the patient and their families. It is a life-long disease that warrants individualized and multifaceted treatment approach. The standard treatment for glaucoma has been focused on the reduction of the intraocular pressure (IOP) by pharmaceutical and/or surgical means. Various conventional formulations are available in the market for the noninvasive and invasive delivery of drugs for the treatment of glaucoma, which include eye drops, eye ointment, periocular injections, etc. Eye drops are widely used for anterior segments application, being a convenient formulation; however, they are also associated with some limitations in terms of pharmacological profile, pharmacokinetic profile, dosing frequency, systemic untoward effect, and poor patient compliance. Low drug bioavailability due to transient contact time, rapid washout by tearing, nasolacrimal drainage are some of the major issues related to the ocular pharmacotherapy. To overcome these challenges, novel biocompatible nanocarriers have been widely explored and investigated for ophthalmic application. The nanocarriers for glaucoma treatment may have manifold advantages, viz., augment drug residence time on the ocular surface and concomitantly ocular bioavailability, and also enhance surgical success by optimization of postoperative scarring and endow a wider safety window. The novel carriers explored include nanoparticle, solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN), nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC), in situ gel, vesicular carrier, niosomes, mucoadhesive system among others. Additionally, biocompatible nanocarriers offer potential benefits like biodegradability, non-toxicity, self-degradability, protection of drug from degradation, controlled drug release, and site specific delivery. However, more studies are required to establish the cellular fate, clinical efficacy, and cytotoxicity of the nanocarriers. This chapter presents a broad overview of the application of biocompatible nanocarriers and reports the clinical findings and patents for the effective management of glaucoma.