Hydrogel eye drops as a non-invasive drug carrier for topical enhanced Adalimumab permeation and highly efficient uveitis treatment

Schematic diagram of the preparation of drug loaded hydrogel eye drops and non-invasive uveitis treatment using hydrogel eye drops. [Display omitted] •The hydrogel eye drops slowly release drug and prolong the ocular drug retention.•A novel hydrogel provides a non-invasive way to boost ocular drug bioavailability.•The adalimumab-loaded LCGH performs excellent therapeutic efficacy for uveitis. Uveitis is one of the most popular blind-causing eye diseases worldwide. Adalimumab (ADA) is used for the uveitis treatment through systemic or intravitreal injection at the expense of systemic side effects and increased medical risks. Although eye drops, a non-invasive topical treatment, could be a potential strategy to reduce side effects, it remains challenging to apply due to limited bioavailability mainly linked to poor retention time and permeation capacity for eye biological barriers. Here, we reported hydrogel eye drops composed of low-deacetylated chitosan and β-glycerophosphate as an ADA carrier and tested its toxicity, tolerability, intraocular permeability, and efficacy of non-invasive treatment for uveitis. It’s found the ADA-loaded hydrogel eye drops were more efficient than free ADA both in permeation rate and clinical efficacy for uveitis, Overall, this study provides a friendly non-invasive strategy to improve drug permeation rate and uveitis treatment efficacy, which may be valuable to clinically ophthalmic medication.