Current Nanotechnological Strategies for Treating Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a common cause of blindness worldwide, and the development of treatments is difficult for pharmaceutical scientists because successful delivery of drugs to the anterior and posterior segments of eye is challenging due to anatomical and physiological constraints. Conventional treatments use various dosage forms (solutions, suspensions, and ointments) that are hindered by poor intraocular penetration and/or rapid ocular elimination. Therefore, effective, safe, and comfortable methods of drug delivery are needed. One approach to improving ocular therapy is the use of nanotechnology for drug delivery. Recent drug delivery approaches using gels, liposomes, niosomes, ocular inserts, contact lenses, microparticles, nanoparticles, nanosuspensions, and other materials have produced exciting new therapies for ocular diseases, especially glaucoma. In this review, we discuss the importance of nanotechnology in novel drug delivery systems and the future possibilities for an effective treatment of glaucoma.