Sustained Ocular Delivery of Ciprofloxacin Using Nanospheres and Conventional Contact Lens Materials

PURPOSE. To formulate conventional contact lenses that incor-porate nanosphere-encapsulated antibiotic and demonstrate that the lenses provide for sustained antibacterial activity. METHODS. A copolymer composed of pullulan and polycapro-lactone (PCL) was used to synthesize core-shell nanospheres that encapsulated ciprofloxacin. Bactericidal activity of the nanosphere-encapsulated ciprofloxacin (nanosphere/cipro) was tested by using liquid cultures of either Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Nanosphere/cipro was then incorporated into HEMA-based contact lenses that were tested for growth inhibition of S. aureus or P. aeruginosa in liquid cultures inoculated daily with fresh bacteria. Lens de-signs included thin or thick lenses incorporating nanosphere/ cipro and ciprofloxacin-HCl-soaked Acuvue lenses (Acuvue