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Stimuli‐responsive systems for tuneable ocular drug delivery
Author(s) -
Rupenthal I.D.,
Yasin N.,
Bisht R.,
Chen Y.S.,
Jin J.,
Jaiswal J.,
Svirskis D.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2016.0047
Subject(s) - drug , drug delivery , implant , sclera , medicine , biomedical engineering , cornea , pharmacology , ophthalmology , materials science , surgery , nanotechnology
Summary Retinal diseases are currently treated by frequent injections of a drug‐containing solution into the eye, an unpleasant procedure that may lead to complications and low treatment adherence. This has been partially addressed by developing implants that once sutured into the sclera or injected into the vitreous can release drug over months to years. However, once these implants are in place, drug release rates cannot be altered based on individual patient needs. Our research within the Buchanan Ocular Therapeutics Unit aims to develop stimuli‐responsive implants that are able to slowly release drug over time, while also allowing for tuneable top‐up dosing based on the disease progression. One such implant is based on porous conducting polymers using an anionic drug as the dopant. While baseline drug release is achieved by diffusion, further drug bursts can be activated by application of a small electrical signal. Two other systems are based on photo‐sensitive polymers that can be cured or activated once injected into the vitreous by shining light through the cornea. This presentation will cover the preparation and evaluation of these stimuli‐responsive systems including in vitro release data.