10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00706.s001 Christina Karavasili Christina Karavasili Anastasia Komnenou Anastasia Komnenou Orestis L. Katsamenis Orestis L. Katsamenis Glykeria Charalampidou Glykeria Charalampidou Evangelia Kofidou Evangelia Kofidou Dimitrios Andreadis Dimitrios Andreadis Sotirios Koutsopoulos Sotirios Koutsopoulos Dimitrios G. Fatouros Dimitrios G. Fatouros Self-Assembling Peptide Nanofiber Hydrogels for Controlled Ocular Delivery of Timolol Maleate American Chemical Society 2017 vivo permeation studies AUC I-CONH drug solution vivo studies self-assembling peptide sequence CONH 2 hydrogel electron microscopy studies Timolol Maleate Controlled Ocular Delivery 24 h self-assembling peptide hydrogels CONH 2 peptide Self-Assembling Peptide Nanofiber Hydrogels β- blocker timolol maleate form hydrogels Ac rheological studies CONH 2 drug delivery drug-loaded hydrogels Histological studies 2017-11-04 00:00:00 Journal contribution https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Self-Assembling_Peptide_Nanofiber_Hydrogels_for_Controlled_Ocular_Delivery_of_Timolol_Maleate/5605735 The self-assembling peptides Ac-(RADA)<sub>4</sub>-CONH<sub>2</sub> and Ac-(IEIK)<sub>3</sub>I-CONH<sub>2</sub>, which form hydrogels in physiological conditions, were evaluated as carriers for ocular delivery of the β-blocker timolol maleate. Electron microscopy studies revealed that hydrogels contain nanofibers, whereas rheological studies showed that the Ac-(IEIK)<sub>3</sub>I-CONH<sub>2</sub> self-assembles in a stiffer hydrogel compared with the Ac-(RADA)<sub>4</sub>-CONH<sub>2</sub> peptide. The in vitro release and ex vivo permeation studies demonstrated controlled release and transport of the drug through the cornea, which depended on the self-assembling peptide sequence. In vivo studies in rabbits showed significant increase in the area under the concentration–time curve (AUC) after administration of the drug through the Ac-(RADA)<sub>4</sub>-CONH<sub>2</sub> hydrogel compared to drug solution, whereas a sustained reduction of intraocular pressure for up to 24 h after instillation was achieved for both drug-loaded hydrogels. Histological studies revealed good ocular tolerability upon application of the formulations, suggesting that self-assembling peptide hydrogels are promising systems for sustained ocular drug delivery.