Abstract
Achieving an increase in drug delivery through the sclera is important in the treatment of the back of the eye diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, etc. Our objective is to utilize therapeutic ultrasound in enhancing drug delivery through the sclera. Porcine sclera was placed in a standard diffusion cell at a normal physiological temperature of 34 °C. Solution of sodium fluorescein, a hydrophilic drug-mimicking compound, was added to donor compartment, and receiver compartment was filled with saline. The sclera was exposed to ultrasound for 5 min (intensities 1.2–1.8 W/cm2 and frequencies 0.5 to 5 MHz). After 60 min, solution samples were taken from the receiver compartment to determine the concentration of sodium fluorescein. The sclera permeability to the drug mimicking agent in vitro increased 3.5 times at 0.5 MHz (p-value of less than 0.05), 1.7 times at 1 MHz, 3.5 times at 3.5 MHz (p-value of less than 0.05), and 1.5 times at 5 MHz. The average temperature of the sclera during ultrasound exposure was 42 °C. No gross changes were observed in the sclera due to ultrasound application. Future work will focus on determination of optimal ultrasound parameters for the drug delivery through the sclera.
Published Version
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