This study was aimed to develop a polymeric drug delivery system for controlling the ocular delivery of ofloxacin. To achieve this goal, Ofloxacin-loaded (poly D, L-Lactide (DL-PLA) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by solvent diffusion technique. The 2*32 full factorial experimental design was used to study the influence of three different independent variables (drug to polymer ratio, surfactant type and surfactant concentration) on two responses: particle size and encapsulation efficiency. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the significance of the difference between the tested factors using computer software Stat View version 4.57. The physicochemical characteristics of DL-PLA nanoparticles were evaluated using particle size analyzer, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffractometry. All independent variables were found to significantly influence the particle size and the entrapment efficiency. The nanoparticles formulations showed particle size diameter in the range of (200+3.92 – 860+4.32 nm) and a drug loading percent in the range of (23.53+ 1.61 – 44.43+1.11). The in vitro drug release profiles showed half-life (t1/2) up to 7.4 hours indicating the suitability of DL-PLA nanoparticles in controlling Ofloxacin release. The Ofloxacin was released in a biphasic fashion including an initial burst release followed by a sustained release for the next 12 hours. The drug release from all formulae was governed by Fickian diffusion. Based on the statistical model ofloxacin-loaded polymeric nanoparticle suspensions of less than 1µ in size could be produced and that may be of clinical importance as ocular delivery system in treatment of bacterial infection.
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