Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of commercial soft contact lenses, loaded with vitamin E, as ocular drug delivery systems for simultaneous loading and release of ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and betamethasone (BMZ) in artificial tears.
Methods: In this study, we applied vitamin E as a barrier to increase BMZ-Cipro loading into three commercial silicone-based soft contact lenses and control their simultaneous release into the artificial lachrymal fluid. Two different concentrations of vitamin E solution (0.1 and 0.2 g/ml) were used, and various parameters including changes in lens diameter, water content, ultraviolet-visible light (UV-Vis) transmittance, drug-binding properties, and drug release profile were investigated.
Results: The obtained results indicated that vitamin E significantly reduced the swelling properties of contact lenses in aqueous media, while it enhanced the lens diameter in both dry and hydrated states. Vitamin E had no significant effects on visible transmittance, while it blocked UV radiation, which could be harmful for the eye surface. Our findings revealed that vitamin E improved the simultaneous loading amount of BMZ-Cipro into soft contact lenses. Additionally, BMZ and Cipro release rates significantly reduced after using vitamin E as a hydrophobic diffusion barrier. After soaking the lenses in 0.1 and 0.2 g/ml of vitamin E solution, BMZ release time increased by 28.8-81.6 and 182.4-201 folds, respectively. Moreover, Cipro release time increased by 12-18 and 1152-2313 folds, respectively.
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated the efficacy of vitamin E as a diffusion barrier in developing a controlled drug delivery system for the simultaneous loading of BMZ and Cipro and sustaining their release from soft contact lenses.
Keywords: Betamethasone; ciprofloxacin; ocular drug delivery; silicone-based soft contact lens; simultaneous loading and release; vitamin E.