Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is among the leading causes of
blindness worldwide.
Bevacizumab has demonstrated promising effects on CNV treatment; however, frequent
intravitreal injection is its major drawback. Current study aimed to address this issue by developing a
sustained release formulation through nanoparticles of
bevacizumab imbedded in an ocular implant.
Bevacizumab-loaded
chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation method and inserted in the matrix of
hyaluronic acid and
zinc sulfate. Despite the common approaches in using ultraviolet (UV)-spectrophotometry, microprotein-Bradford, and
bicinchoninic acid (BCA), assay for
protein assessment, our results revealed a remarkable UV-Vis absorption overlap of
protein and
chitosan during these analysis and thus
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay was employed for the antibody concentration assay. The size of optimized nanoparticles obtained through statistical analysis based on design of experiments was 78.5 ± 1.9 nm with polydispersity index of 0.13 ± 0.05 and the entrapment-efficiency and loading-efficiency were 67.6 ± 6.7 and 15.7 ± 5.7%, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy images revealed a homogenous distribution of nanoparticles in the implant matrix and the release test results indicated an appropriate extended release of
bevacizumab from the carrier over two months. In conclusion, the prepared system provided a sustained release
bevacizumab delivery formulation which can introduce a promising ocular drug delivery system intended for posterior segment disease. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 2261-2271, 2018.