Formulation and Optimization of Itraconazole Loaded Novel Nanostructured Lipid Carrier-based Ocular Controlled Release Formulation.

The low penetration power and the retention time into the intraocular tissue are the main problems that make difficult for most of the drugs for the ocular drug delivery system. This is for those drugs that are having the low or poor solubility and the low permeability. Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLCs) loaded with Itraconazole (ITZ) were formulated with the aim to increase the solubility and enhance the retention time in the intraocular tissue. Methods: The NLCs were prepared by using Pluronic (PF127), stearic acid and oleic acid. Itraconazole loaded Nanostructured lipid carrier were prepared by high-pressure homogenization method and the formulations were prepared and optimized by 3 Level Factorial Design. F6 was selected on the basis of better entrapment efficiency (94.65), optimum particle size (310nm), and percentage cumulative release (68.67%). Scanning electron microscopy revealed spherical Nanostructured lipid carrier in the microemulsion. Nanostructured lipid carrier Irritation test showed the non-irritancy and antifungal activity showed a more inhibition zone as compared to the marketed formulation. Conclusively the optimized Formulation (F6) shows better results for the ocular drug delivery as compared to the marked formulation.