Abstract

ANTI-GLAUCOMATIC NIOSOMAL GEL: A BRIEF REVIEW

Neelam Jain*, Anurag Verma and Neeraj Jain

ABSTRACT

Glaucoma is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder characterized by increased intraocular pressure (IOP) and subsequent retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death leading to the loss of visual field. The chronic open angle glaucoma creates a major problem of public health and it is second to cataract as a leading cause of global blindness. Its treatment requires a long and prolonged therapy by eye medication. The major drawbacks associated with eye drops are lack of drug permeability through ocular barrier and poor bioavailability. The reason may be attributed to precorneal loss caused by tear turnover, nasolacrimal drainage, reflex blinking, and ocular static and dynamic barriers. With the recent advancement in the field of ocular therapy, drug delivery approaches have been elevated to a new concept in terms of nonionic surfactant vesicles (Niosomes). Nowadays, niosomes are gaining more popularity because of their stability, ease of preparation, achieving reduced toxicity, increasing drug efficacy and most importantly their site targeted action. Moreover, niosomes based ocular gel containing bioadhesive polymer helps the drug to remain adhered to eye surface for a long period of time. Hence, precorneal residence time is increased, resulting in significant enhancement of ocular bioavailability. This article covers structure of eye, drawbacks of conventional ocular preparations, complications of glaucoma therapy and newer advances in the field of antiglaucomatic niosomal gel.

Keywords: Niosomes, Glaucoma, Ocular delivery, Eye drops, Niosomal gel.