Preparation and Characterization of Nanoparticular Systems For Topical Treatment of Ocular Infections

In this study, the active ingredient of besifloxacin was loaded into PLGA nanoparticles and the usability of the obtained nanoparticles as a controlled drug release system for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis was investigated. Besif- loxacin was selected because it does not contain a systemic formulation and is effective against both gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens. After topical application, besifloxacin was loaded into PLGA nanoparticles and tested for effecti- veness in order to prolong the residence time of besifoxacin. For this purpose, besifloxacin loaded PLGA nanoparticles were characterized and toxicity and in vitro release studies were performed. Nanoparticles were characterized as morphological structure by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), size and charge analysis by Zeta Sizer and physicochemical structure by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR). According to the Zeta Sizer results, the nanoparticles have a mean size of 200nm and the SEM images support the results. It was determined that 40% of the initial concentration of besifloxacin active substance was loaded on PLGA nanoparticles as a result of the determination of the amount of drug found in the supernatant. The release pattern of besifloxacin from the nanoparticles was not found to be burst effect but was released in a slower and more controlled manner.