Stimulus-Responsive Hydrogel for Ophthalmic Drug Delivery

Blindness and vision impairment are major global health problems. Effective ophthalmic drug delivery poses a significant challenge because of protective physiological barriers and various biological clearance mechanisms that result in extremely low ocular bioavailability. Over the past several decades, several safe and effective ophthalmic drug delivery approaches have been promoted to combat these problems and to improve ocular bioavailability. Among these approaches, the stimulus-responsive hydrogel for topical drug delivery has gained increasing attention because of its prolonged drug retention at the local site and enhanced ocular bioavailability. This review summarizes and presents recent advances and perspectives of a stimulus-responsive hydrogel for ophthalmic drug delivery.