Pharmaceutical Applications of Xanthan Gum in Ophthalmic Delivery Systems

Introduction: Ophthalmic delivery system is one of the challenging domains of formulation and development due to tear dilutions, drug loss due to lacrimal drainage, limited volume and pre-corneal barriers. Several pharmaceutical technologies are exploited in order to counter the challenges posed by ocular route such as emulsions and suspensions. But all these technologies have stability issues which lead to their limited use.Background: Among polysaccharides, xanthan gum, a natural occurring biodegradable exopolysaccharide extracted from bacterium Xanthomonas campestris is widely accepted as one of the potential polysaccharide in ophthalmic delivery systems.Review Results: Xanthan gum is commonly used as an additive to various ophthalmic formulations due to its mucoadhesive property and imparting stability to various novel pharmaceutical technologies for ophthalmic. Xanthan gum also allows chemical modifications with various ligands which consequently allow controlled release, modified dissolution rate and viscoelasticity. Conclusion: In this review we are providing an insight over potential of pharmaceutical applications of xanthan gum. Also, we have discussed the scope of chemical modifications in xanthan gum with modified physicochemical properties