Thermosensitive glycol chitosan-based hydrogel as a topical ocular drug delivery system for enhanced ocular bioavailability

[Display omitted] In the present study, we developed and evaluated an in situ gelling system based on hexanoyl glycol chitosan (H-GCS) for enhanced ocular bioavailability. An aqueous solution of H-GCS exhibited a typical sol-gel transition at 32 °C. The formed H-GCS hydrogel was characterized by rheology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). H-GCS had minimal in vitro cytotoxicity against L-929 and HCEC cells over a concentration range of 0–0.8 mg/mL. Additionally, the H-GCS hydrogel exhibited good ocular tolerance and biocompatibility after a single instillation. Moreover, H-GCS hydrogel significantly prolonged the precorneal retention of fluorescein sodium compared with its aqueous solution. An in vivo pharmacokinetic study demonstrated that the levofloxacin-loaded H-GCS hydrogel could provide a significantly higher Cmax and AUC0-12h compared with the levofloxacin aqueous solution, thus increasing ocular bioavailability. Overall, the proposed H-GCS hydrogel acts as an in situ gelling system that might represent a promising vehicle for topical ocular drug delivery.