Role of ocular melanin in ocular drug delivery
10.3760/cma.j.issn.2095-0160.2014.06.020
- VernacularTitle:眼内色素在眼部药物传递中的作用
- Author:
Bifei, LAN
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Ocular melanin;
Binding of drugs to melanin;
Transscleral drug delivery;
Transscleral drug delivery system
- From:Chinese Journal of Experimental Ophthalmology
2014;32(6):572-576
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Ocular melanin is mainly distributed in the uveal tract (including iris,ciliary body and choroid) and the retina pigmented epithelial (RPE) layer.Many drugs from different therapeutic classes can bind to melanin.Examples include antibiotics,anesthetics,β-blockers,corticosteroids,antimalarial drugs and so on.The critical factors are the acid/base status and the lipophilicity of the molecule.Lots of literatures,which refer to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics of drugs from different administration routes,have demonstrated that the binding of drugs to melanin plays an important role in the drug delivery.Not only it may increase initial concentration of drug in the tissues,but also the reversible binding of most drugs to melanin result in a slow release of drugs from melanin,thus it would prolong the action time to potentially beneficial or adverse effects.In addition,the melanin content differs by species and races,even by regions of an eye,which results in different binding capacity of a drug in each individual.Nonetheless,further understanding the melanin-drug binding can provide scientific insight and guideline for transscleral ocular drug delivery.
