Niosome-Based Approaches in Ocular Drug Delivery: Advances, Challenges, And Future Perspectives

The delivery of drugs into the eye is an important issue because there are physiological barriers to the delivery of drugs that include tear turnover, corneal impermeability, and nasolacrimal drainage. Traditional formulae do not readily attain therapeutic concentrations at the desired site and the need to develop new delivery systems has arisen. Non-ionic surfactant-based vesicular carriers (niosomes) have become a promising alternative to liposomes and conventional dosage forms because of their biocompatibility, stability and encapsulation of both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs. The review indicates the concepts of the niosome technology, current development trends in the field of ocular applications, and the benefits of the niosome technology over the traditional systems. The most important studies that investigate the therapeutic outcomes of treating such conditions as glaucoma, conjunctivitis, retinal disorders are presented, as well as the problem of stability, scalability, and ocular irritation. The paper ends by identifying gaps in the research and proposing areas of future growth, which makes the niosomes an effective approach to transform ocular therapeutics.