Advancing Ocular Drug Delivery: Harnessing Nanogels to Overcome Limitations and Enhance Therapeutic Efficacy

Abstract

The delivery of therapies for ocular diseases has a broader range of medications,
but the administration of drugs is often limited by the anatomical and physiological barriers.
This review aims to critically evaluate the translational potential of nanogel-based ocular drug
delivery systems (ODD), with a focus on addressing clinical applicability, long-term safety, and
scalability while providing a comparative perspective against existing ocular drug delivery
systems. In this review, we collected data through a search of peer-reviewed articles in the
PubMed database released between 2020 and 2025. Here, we analyzed the common barriers that
affect the ocular drug delivery system, conventional methodologies, nanogel drug delivery
methods, formulation techniques, and therapeutic methods of nanogel. We have observed that
the ODD nanogels have an increased penetration rate, superior precorneal retention, and
controlled drug delivery of anterior and posterior segment ailments. Other modern methods,
such as stimuli-responsive formulations, hybrid nanogel nanoparticle assemblies, and
bioadhesive surface modification, have demonstrated potential in enhancing therapeutic
targeting and stability. Nevertheless, issues with long-term safety validation, batch-to-batch
reproducibility, and compliance with regulatory standards remain. The effectiveness, safety, and
clinical relevance of nanogel-based ocular therapeutics have high potential in changing the face
of ocular therapeutics.