New Insights into Ocular Drug Delivery Systems: Latest Advances and Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

Effective ocular drug delivery is still a challenge for pharmaceutical technologists due to the complex elimination mechanisms of the eye. Most ophthalmic drugs are administered topically in the form of eye drops. Unfortunately, because of the eye’s special anatomic structure and efficient protective physiological mechanism, the bioavailability is very low; typically less than 5%. Implementing effective strategies to increase drugs’ residence time on the ocular surface, with the aim of minimizing systemic drug side effects and reducing dosing frequency, is one of the most significant challenges for researchers developing ocular pharmaceutical technology.

In addition, diseases affecting the posterior segment of the eye are devastating, causing blindness in many patients. This area has limited drug access, develops chronic inflammation, and requires treatment with sustained drug concentrations at the site of action for long periods of time. Novel drug delivery systems, such as nanoparticles, liposomes, and novel ocular inserts, are being explored to overcome these barriers and enhance drugs’ ability to penetrate the eye. Despite the potential benefits of these advanced drug delivery systems, toxicity, stability, scale-up, and clinical performance remain ongoing challenges.

This Special Issue is intended to highlight and capture the current research landscape for ocular drug delivery systems and provide direction for future research. We welcome submissions of original research articles and reviews with expert opinions and perceptions in the area of therapeutics. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Javier Rodríguez Villanueva
Prof. Dr. Manuel Guzmán Navarro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.