Novel strategies to enhance cutaneous and ocular delivery of hydrophobic drugs

Nanocarriers have been proposed as a promising strategy to enhance topical drug delivery because they can improve hydrophobic compounds water-solubility and, due to their nanometric size, they can promote drugs accumulation in tissues avoiding or minimizing any systemic absorption. Therefore, the general aim of this project was to study polymeric micelles for their ability to boost the solubility and retention of some lipophilic drugs commonly used for the topical treatment of cutaneous and ocular diseases. Furthermore, considering the issues related to the application of ocular formulations, a polymeric device was prepared and evaluated for its possible use in the treatment of anterior and posterior eye segment disorders. The manuscript is divided in seven chapters. In the first one, an overview of polymeric micelles general features will be given. The second chapter will focus on drug delivery to the skin, describing the structure of the skin, the main routes of drugs penetration and the most relevant factors affecting cutaneous delivery. In this part, the experimental work regarding the preparation of polymeric micelles loaded with imiquimod for skin delivery will be reported. Ocular drug delivery, with particular attention to the main routes of ocular administration, will be illustrated in the third chapter together with the experimental part about the preparation of cyclosporine-loaded polymeric micelles for anterior and posterior segment disorders. The fourth chapter will report the use of polymeric films loaded with dexamethasone and levofloxacin to be used as inserts or implants for ocular delivery. Finally, in the fifth chapter, a general conclusion is found whereas in the sixth and seventh chapter a list of the scientific articles published or submitted and the list of references are reported.