Cross-linked chitosan-dextran sulphate vehicle system for controlled release of ciprofloxaxin drug: An ophthalmic application

Abstract

The major challenge associated with conventional eye-drop is the rapid drug loss due to precorneal defence barrier. In this context, controlled-release system of ciprofloxacin-conjugated chitosan (CS)-Dextran sulphate (DS) nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized, to increase the bioavailability. The formulated drug delivery vehicle was evaluated for its therapeutic value in the simulated tear fluidat pH 7.4. Ophthalmic microbes were tested with this formulation, to confirm the drug efficacy; which showed conducive therapeutic values of both MIC and MBC. Ocular irritancy test was performed using HET-CAM test, which showed that the CS-DS system did not yield any vascular response, offering it to be a non-irritant to the ocular surface. The release studies showed monotonous controlled-release for duration of 21 h. A fine cross-linking between CS and DS has been demonstrated to form CS-DS NPs and their interaction with drug has been evaluated using conventional characterization tools.

Keywords

• Chitosan
• Nanoparticles
• Ophthalmic
• Ciprofloxacin
• Sustained release