Drug Delivery and Translational Research - Featured Article: April 2022

Read the featured article from the April 2022 issue! (this opens in a new tab)

Summary: While eye drops are the most common ocular dosage form, eye drops for treating diseases of the posterior segment have yet to be developed. Degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the retina may progress despite significant intraocular pressure lowering, suggesting that complementary neuroprotective therapies would improve glaucoma management. Here, we describe a hypotonic, thermosensitive gel-forming eye drop to effectively deliver sunitinib, with activity to enhance survival of RGCs after optic nerve injury via inhibiting dual leucine zipper kinase family. We further discovered that the combination of enhanced intraocular absorption provided by the gel-forming eye drop vehicle and the intrinsic melanin binding properties of sunitinib led to significant protection of RGCs with only once weekly eye drop dosing. For a chronic disease such as glaucoma, an effective once weekly eye drop for neuroprotection could result in greater patient adherence, and thus, greater disease management and improved patient quality of life.

The Editorial Board of DDTR selected this article as the best paper of this issue.