Balancing sterility and sustainability: Novel strategies in ophthalmic packaging

The sterile ophthalmic products require a specialized packaging to maintain the sterility, ensure product stability and protect patient safety. Growing environmental concerns associated with conventional plastic packaging have accelerated the development of sustainable alternatives. This review highlights recent advances in sustainable packaging technologies for sterile ophthalmic products, including mono-material packaging, bio-based polymers, smart packaging, lightweight designs and preservative-free multidose systems. It also discusses key challenges related to the material compatibility, sterility assurance, regulatory compliance and large-scale implementation.