Eye ointments should be sterile and supplied in small sterile tubes with a fine nozzle for convenience in application.
The tubes should be thoroughly cleaned and free from metallic and dust particles. These ointments are intended for application into the eye for the effect of a variety of medicaments on the outside and edges of the eyelids, the conjunctiva, the cornea and the iris.
Most of these ointments contain petrolatum, petrolatum-mineral oil and petrolatum- anhydrous lanolin bases. Absorption and emulsion bases may irritate the eye due to the emulsifier/surfactant present in the base.
Sterility of ophthalmic ointments is a legal requirement and hence tests for sterility should always be performed on packaged products. Immediate container for ophthalmic ointment should be sealed and tamper-proof so as to ensure sterility at time of first usage.
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The active ingredients should be finely divided and sterile. Petrolatum bases can be sterilized in a hot air oven at 175°C for 2 hours. The processing should be carried out under aseptic conditions employing sterile apparatus and equipment. For small scale preparations either an aseptic hood or a laminar flow unit is satisfactory.
An easy method for sterilizing ointment tubes consists of keeping them immersed in 70% alcohol for 24 hours pirior to use. Current trend in ophthalmic ointments is to pack them in single application capsules so as to preclude contamination during use products.
Such single application ointment capsules contain a quantity sufficient for single use and have to be punctured with a sterile needle just before use and discarded afterwards.