ABSTRACT:
The poor bioavailability and therapeutic response exhibited by conventional ophthalmic solutions due to rapid precorneal elimination of the drug may be overcome by the use ocuserts. Ocuserts is the new drug-delivery systems which are planned in such a way that they release the drug at the predetermined rate thus eliminating the frequent administration of the drug. The intension behind the present study was to develop an ophthalmic insert of Ciprofloxacin and assess for sustained ocular delivery of drug. Six formulations were formulated using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by solvent casting technique. The formulated ocuserts were estimated for weight variation, content uniformity, swelling index, surface pH, assay, % moisture absorption, % moisture loss and assessment of drug release. Physiochemical characterization and in vitro drug release studies reveal that, the prepared ocuserts F4 and F5 released 100% of drug over a period of 12 h. The data obtained for this study suggest that ocular inserts of Ciprofloxacin are promising for sustained drug delivery, which can reduce dosing frequency.