Inflammation Targeted Curcumin Eye Drops for Treatment OF Dry Eye Disease

Dry eye disease (DED) occurs when the eyes do not produce enough tears or when the tears evaporate too quickly because the oil glands are blocked or abnormal. This leads to the eyes drying out and becoming inflamed (red and swollen) and irritated. In North America, DED affects up to 20% of the population. The primary objective of this study was to develop inflammation-targeted curcumin eye drops for the treatment of dry eye disease. Extensive research over the past half-century has shown that curcumin, a component of the golden spice turmeric (Curcuma longa), has pleiotropic activities that emanate from its ability to modulate numerous signaling molecules, such as proinflammatory cytokines, apoptotic proteins, NF–κB, cyclooxygenase 2, 5LOX, STAT3, C-reactive protein, prostaglandin E, prostate-specific antigen, adhesion molecules, phosphorylase kinase, transforming growth factor β, triglyceride, ET1, and creatinine in human participants. To enhance the solubility of curcumin, it was complexed with arginine. Furthermore, curcumin and curcumin argininate were complexed with HPβCD by freeze-drying and characterized by fluorescence spectral studies, FTIR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The formulations were reconstituted with PBS 6.8, and the curcumin and curcumin arginate contents in the inclusion complex were 85.96 and 87%, respectively. The curcumin- and curcumin argininate-HPβCD eye drops were clear and free of particulate matter, and the pH of the formulations was 6.8, suggesting that the formulation can be well tolerated in the eyes, as the pH of tear fluid is also 6.8.