Voriconazole-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers for Ocular Drug Delivery

PURPOSE:To design and evaluate the potential of a topical delivery system for ocular administration of voriconazole, based on cationic nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). METHODS:NLC dispersions composed of glyceryl behenate/capric caprylic triglyceride, polysorbate 80, sorbitan trioleate, and cetylpyridinium chloride were obtained and characterized. Ex vivo permeations experiments were performed to evaluate their drug delivery potential. RESULTS:NLCs presented a mean diameter of 250.2 ± 03.1 nm, narrow polydispersity index (0.288 ± 0.03), positive zeta potential (31.22 ± 3.8 mV), and over 75% encapsulation efficiency. Ex vivo ocular experiments proved that NLCs were able to deliver therapeutically relevant drug amounts to the cornea after only 30 minutes (13.88 ± 0.24 μg/cm). CONCLUSIONS:The formulation was nonexpensive, easy to prepare, and composed of well-tolerated and accepted excipients. Further in vivo experiments are necessary to confirm the improved performance and tolerability of the formulation.