Sustained Release Biocompatible Ocular Insert Using Hot Melt Extrusion Technology: Fabrication and in-vivo evaluation

Topical eye drops usually have low bioavailability of the drug. Rapid turnover of lacrimal fluid flushes the drug away from the ocular surface, and the drug has limited time for absorption. Therefore, we design Metoprolol loaded ocular insert to enhance bioavailability against glaucoma in this study. Hot-melt extrusion was utilized to prepare the inserts using Gelatin, GelMa, and Polyacrylic acid (PAA) as matrix-forming polymers. The prepared ocular insert was characterized for physicochemical properties and in vitro drug release. It was observed that GelMa concentration and PAA concentration greatly affected drug release. Inserts prepared from Gelatin-PAA released 38.6% Metoprolol in the first hour. However, replacing 20% of Gelatin with GelMa reduced the initial release to 23.6%.