In vitro uptake and release studies of ocular pharmaceutical agents by silicon-containing and p-HEMA hydrogel contact lens materials

The in vitro uptake and release behaviour of cromolyn sodium, ketotifen fumarate, ketorolac tromethamine and dexamethasone sodium phosphate with silicon-containing (lotrafilcon and balafilcon) and p-HEMA-containing (etafilcon, alphafilcon, polymacon, vifilcon and omafilcon) hydrogel contact lenses indicated that both drug and material affected the uptake and release behaviour. Rapid uptake and release (within 50 min) was observed for all drugs except ketotifen fumarate which was more gradual taking approximately 5 h. Furthermore, the maximum uptake differed significantly between drugs and materials. The highest average uptake (7879±684 μg/lens) was cromolyn sodium and the lowest average uptake (67±13 μg/lens) was dexamethasone sodium phosphate. Partial release of the drug taken up was observed for all drugs except dexamethasone sodium phosphate where no release was detected. Sustained release was demonstrated only by ketotifen fumarate. Drug uptake/release appeared to be a function of lens material ionicity, water and silicon content. The silicon-containing materials released less drug than the p-HEMA-containing materials. The lotrafilcon material demonstrated less interactions with the drugs than the balafilcon material which can be explained by their different bulk composition and surface treatment.