Design and Evaluation of Ocular Controlled Delivery System for Diclofenac Sodium

Diclofenac sodium as ophthalmic dosage form is used in patients treatment of eye pain, swelling and redness recovering from cataract surgery but it faces the bioavailability limitation of eye drops due to effective protective mechanisms and corneal barrier functions in the eyes. Therefore, this investigation was aimed to develop ocular film formulations to achieve controlled drug release. Drug films were prepared using polymers, namely hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), Eudragit RL PO, and Eudragit RS PO by solvent casting method considering parameters such as drug: polymer ratio, different polymer combinations as well as plasticizer effect. Ocular films were evaluated for various physicochemical parameters such as physical characters, film thickness, uniformity of weight, drug content, swelling index, mucoadhesion time and in vitro release study. Ocular films complied with all the physicochemical parameters underwent for in vitro release study. Finally the film formulation with HPMC: Eudragit RS PO 1:1 ratio, Drug: Polymer ratio 1:45 and glycerin as plasticizer showed controlled and prolonged release following zero order and non-Fickian transport.