Effect of anionic/siloxy groups on the release of ofloxacin from soft contact lenses

For the treatment of ocular diseases, chemotherapeutic antibiotics, for example, Ofloxacin, are usually administrated through the application of eye drops during ophthalmic perioperative sterilization. However, this approach has several drawbacks, such as the need for frequent application caused by tears draining the drugs out of the eyes or the presence of a possible contraindication of eye drops when contact lenses are worn. To overcome these problems, we have studied contact lenses composed of hydrogels, which function as a type of drug delivery system technology. We synthesized hydrogels to be used as contact lenses with sufficient amounts of drug uptake and release profiles for sterilization treatment during the perioperative period in ophthalmic areas. This study showed that the hydrogels that included side-chain ionic groups and silyl groups were useful materials to prepare drug delivery contact lenses. The ionic groups in the hydrogels could functionally retain a drug if an ionic substituent was present. It is noteworthy that the drug content in the contact lenses could readily be controlled by changing the ratio of ionic monomer contents during polymerization. Furthermore, the controlled drug release of silyl-group-containing hydrogels showed sustained release over 72 h, which indicated that the hydrogels could be used as contact lenses for sustained drug release. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2013