Review: Emerging strategies for antimicrobial drug delivery to the ocular surface: Implications for infectious keratitis

Infectious keratitis is a medical emergency that can cause severe visual morbidity if not treated promptly. Depending upon the causative microorganism, effective management of infectious keratitis requires frequent application of antibacterial, antifungal, or antiviral eye drops, which may have low bioavailability, undesirable side effects, and poor patient compliance. Ocular formulations of antimicrobials that can increase corneal permeation and provide extended presence on ocular surface are being developed. Such formulations include nanoparticles, mucoadhesives, in situ forming hydrogels, and contact lenses. Testing of these formulations in in vitro models and ex vivo excised corneas, and in vivo rabbit testing have demonstrated increased bioavailability and extended presence on the cornea. Many of these formulations have also demonstrated success in treating infectious keratitis in animal models. However, the majority of studies have evaluated fluoroquinolone antibacterials, and more studies are needed to test the delivery of antifungal drugs. Moreover, additional efficacy data in animal models and future studies in humans to determine the duration of inhibitory concentrations of these antimicrobials in tear fluid will be required to prove the effectiveness of these formulations for clinical management of infectious keratitis.