Advances in the use of prodrugs for drug delivery to the eye

Introduction: Ocular drug delivery is presented with many challenges, taking into account the distinctive structure of the eye. The prodrug approach has been, and is being, employed to overcome such barriers for some drug molecules, utilizing a chemical modification approach rather than a formulation-based approach. A prodrug strategy involves modification of the active moiety into various derivatives in a fashion that imparts some advantage, such as membrane permeability, site specificity, transporter targeting and improved aqueous solubility, over the parent compound. Areas covered: The following review is a comprehensive summary of various novel methodologies and strategies reported over the past few years in the area of ocular drug delivery. Some of the strategies discussed involve polymer and lipid conjugation with the drug moiety to impart hydrophilicity or lipophilicity, or to target nutrient transporters by conjugation with transporter-specific moieties and retrometabolic drug design. Expert opinion: The application of prodrug strategies provides an option for enhancing drug penetration into the ocular tissues, and overall ocular bioavailability, with minimum disruption of the ocular diffusion barriers. Although success of the prodrug strategy is contingent on various factors, such as the chemical structure of the parent molecule, aqueous solubility and solution stability, capacity of targeted transporters and bioreversion characteristics, this approach has been successfully utilized, commercially and therapeutically, in several cases.