Ultrasound-enhanced ocular delivery of dexamethasone sodium phosphate: An in vivo study

Authors

Marjan Nabili, George Washington University
Aditi Shenoy, George Washington University
Shawn Chawla, George Washington University
Sankaranarayana P. Mahesh, George Washington University
Craig Geist, George Washington University
Vesna Zderic, George Washington University

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

3-31-2014

Journal

Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound

Volume

Volume 2

Inclusive Pages

Article number 6

DOI

10.1118/1.4929553

Keywords

Drug Delivery Systems--methods; Eye; Models, Biological; Safety; Temperature; Ultrasonic Waves--adverse effects

Abstract

Background

The eye's unique anatomy and its physiological and anatomical barriers can limit effective drug delivery into the eye.

Methods

An in vivo study was designed to determine the effectiveness and safety of ultrasound application in enhancing drug delivery in a rabbit model. Permeability of a steroid ophthalmic drug, dexamethasone sodium phosphate, was investigated in ultrasound- and sham-treated cases. For this study, an eye cup filled with dexamethasone sodium phosphate was placed on the cornea. Ultrasound was applied at intensity of 0.8 W/cm² and frequency of 400 or 600 kHz for 5 min. The drug concentration in aqueous humor samples, collected 90 min after the treatment, was determined using chromatography methods. Light microscopy observations were done to determine the structural changes in the cornea as a result of ultrasound application.

Results

An increase in drug concentration in aqueous humor samples of 2.8 times (p < 0.05) with ultrasound application at 400 kHz and 2.4 times (p < 0.01) with ultrasound application at 600 kHz was observed as compared to sham-treated samples. Histological analysis showed that the structural changes in the corneas exposed to ultrasound predominantly consisted of minor epithelial disorganization.

Conclusions

Ultrasound application enhanced the delivery of an anti-inflammatory ocular drug, dexamethasone sodium phosphate, through the cornea in vivo. Ultrasound-enhanced ocular drug delivery appears to be a promising area of research with a potential future application in a clinical setting.

Comments

Reproduced with permission of BioMed Central, Journal of Ultrasound.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

APA Citation

Nabili, M., Shenoy, A., Chawla, S., Mahesh, S., Liu, J. et al. (2014). Ultrasound-enhanced ocular delivery of dexamethasone sodium phosphate: an in vivo study. Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound, 2:6.

Peer Reviewed

1

Open Access

1