Development and Evaluation of Polyvinylpyrrolidone K90 and Poloxamer 407 Self-Assembled Nanomicelles: Enhanced Topical Ocular Delivery of Artemisinin

Age-related macular degeneration is a multifactorial disease affecting the posterior segment of the eye and is characterized by aberrant nascent blood vessels that leak blood and fluid. It ends with vision loss. In the present study, artemisinin which is poorly water-soluble and has potent anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory properties was formulated into nanomicelles and characterized for its ocular application and anti-angiogenic activity using a CAM assay. Artemisinin-loaded nanomicelles were prepared by varying the concentrations of PVP k90 and poloxamer 407 at different ratios and showed spherical shape particles in the size range of 41–51 nm. The transparency and cloud point of the developed artemisinin-loaded nanomicelles was found to be 99–94% and 68–70 °C, respectively. The in vitro release of artemisinin from the nanomicelles was found to be 96.0–99.0% within 8 h. The trans-corneal permeation studies exhibited a 1.717–2.169 µg permeation of the artemisinin from nanomicelles through the excised rabbit eye cornea for 2 h. Drug-free nanomicelles did not exhibit noticeable DNA damage and showed an acceptable level of hemolytic potential. Artemisinin-loaded nanomicelles exhibited remarkable anti-angiogenic activity compared to artemisinin suspension. Hence, the formulated artemisinin-loaded nanomicelles might have the potential for the treatment of AMD.