Publicação
Supercritical CO₂-assisted impregnation of triamcinolone acetonide into silicone-based soft contact lenses for enhanced ocular drug delivery
| datacite.subject.fos | Ciências Médicas::Ciências da Saúde | |
| datacite.subject.sdg | 03:Saúde de Qualidade | |
| dc.contributor.author | Silva, Diana C. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Gonçalves, Margarida | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ekoh, Elisabeth | |
| dc.contributor.author | Salema-Oom, Madalena | |
| dc.contributor.author | Serro, Ana Paula | |
| dc.contributor.author | Nobre, Beatriz P. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-08T15:05:52Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-08T15:05:52Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026-11 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Soft contact lenses (SCLs) have attracted increasing attention in the field of ocular drug delivery systems, owing to their potential to improve drug bioavailability in vivo. However, the incorporation of lipophilic drugs, constitutes a significant challenge through conventional soaking methods. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂), an environmentally friend solvent, has emerged as an efficient alternative for the development of delivery systems improving the impregnation of such drugs. In this work, scCO₂ impregnation (SCI) was employed to load silicone-based hydrogels for SCLs, with triamcinolone acetonide (TA), a lipophilic corticosteroid. Design of experiments was conducted using a full factorial design to identify the most significant experimental parameters affecting TA SCI, as well as to predict the experimental conditions that maximise SCI. In vitro release assays were carried out with materials loaded by SCI and by conventional soaking. The best performing materials were subjected to an extensive characterisation (thermal behaviour, and optical, physical, chemical and mechanical properties). The results confirmed that TA-loaded SCLs can be effectively prepared using the SCI process. The highest SCI yields were obtained with materials processed at 300 bar and 60 ºC, reaching a TA amount released of 10.12 ± 0.44 µg.mg−1 dry gel, which represents a 162.2% increase compared to the conventional soaking. SCI hydrogels showed suitable properties for the intended application. Overall, the SCI process proved to be both effective, with potential for further optimisation through condition refinement. | eng |
| dc.identifier.citation | Diana C. Silva, Margarida Gonçalves, Elisabeth Ekoh, Madalena Salema-Oom, Ana Paula Serro, Beatriz P. Nobre, Supercritical CO₂-assisted impregnation of triamcinolone acetonide into silicone-based soft contact lenses for enhanced ocular drug delivery, The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, Volume 237, 2026, 107061, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.supflu.2026.107061 | |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.1016/j.supflu.2026.107061 | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 0896-8446 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/63771 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.peerreviewed | yes | |
| dc.publisher | Elsevier | |
| dc.relation.hasversion | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.supflu.2026.107061 | |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject | Supercritical carbon dioxide | |
| dc.subject | Soft contact lenses | |
| dc.subject | Drug delivery | |
| dc.subject | Triamcinolone acetonide | |
| dc.title | Supercritical CO₂-assisted impregnation of triamcinolone acetonide into silicone-based soft contact lenses for enhanced ocular drug delivery | eng |
| dc.type | contribution to journal | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| oaire.citation.startPage | 107061 | |
| oaire.citation.title | Journal of Supercritical Fluids | |
| oaire.citation.volume | 237 | |
| oaire.version | http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85 |