Simultaneous sustained delivery of NSAID bromfenac and lubricant polyvinylpyrrolidone by vitamin E nanobarrier contact lenses.

Purpose: Cataract surgery is commonly followed by daily administration of multiple eye-drops of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs such as moxifloxacin, dexamethasone and bromfenac. Drop-less cataract surgery eliminates the need for the eye drops by injecting medications into the eye during surgery or by inserting devices such as puncta plug to achieve sustained delivery of the drugs. We propose to develop an alternative approach for drop-less cataract surgery by delivering the anti-inflammatory bromfenac via contact lenses (CLs). Methods: The sustained delivery is achieved by increasing tortuosity in the lens by loading vitamin E at 0, 10, 20 or 30% (w/w) into the ACUVUE Results: Incorporation of vitamin E increased the release duration of bromfenac to 7 and 15 days for 20% and 30% vitamin E loadings. The vitamin E incorporation did not impact the release duration of PVP likely because PVP is unable to diffuse into the lens due to the high molecular weight. Bromfenac incorporation led to an increase in release duration of PVP suggesting interaction between the drug bromfenac and the lubricant PVP. The SEM imaging also shows that the combination of bromfenac and PVP results in formation of surface adsorbed aggregates which dissolve during the release phase. The vitamin E, bromfenac and PVP loaded lenses retained key properties of transparency. Conclusions: The bromfenac, PVP, and vitamin E loaded CLs could be an attractive option for postoperative care after cataract surgery to improve therapy and reduce patient burden.