iRGD decorated liposomes: A novel actively penetrating topical ocular drug delivery strategy

Ocular drug delivery remains a significant challenge that is limited by poor corneal retention and permeation, resulting in low ocular bioavailability (< 5%). Worse still, the most convenient and safe route of ocular drug administration, topical administration results in a drug bioavailability of less than 1%. iRGD modified drug delivery strategies have been developed for cancer therapy, however active targeting iRGD platforms for ocular drug delivery have yet to be explored. Herein, an iRGD modified liposomes was developed for ocular drug delivery via topical administration. The results indicated that iRGD modified liposomes could prolong the corneal retention time and enhance corneal permeability in an iRGD receptor mediated manner. These findings provided a novel strategy for topical ocular drug delivery for the treatment of posterior ocular diseases.