School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA.
Sci Adv. 2022 Apr;8(13):eabn1772. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abn1772. Epub 2022 Mar 30.
Ocular drug delivery remains a grand challenge due to the complex structure of the eye. Here, we introduce a unique platform of ocular drug delivery through the integration of silicon nanoneedles with a tear-soluble contact lens. The silicon nanoneedles can penetrate into the cornea in a minimally invasive manner and then undergo gradual degradation over the course of months, enabling painless and long-term sustained delivery of ocular drugs. The tear-soluble contact lens can fit a variety of corneal sizes and then quickly dissolve in tear fluid within a minute, enabling an initial burst release of anti-inflammatory drugs. We demonstrated the utility of this platform in effectively treating a chronic ocular disease, such as corneal neovascularization, in a rabbit model without showing a notable side effect over current standard therapies. This platform could also be useful in treating other chronic ocular diseases.
由于眼睛的复杂结构，眼部药物输送仍然是一个巨大的挑战。在这里，我们通过将硅纳米针与泪溶性隐形眼镜集成，引入了一种独特的眼部药物输送平台。硅纳米针可以以微创的方式穿透角膜，然后在几个月的时间内逐渐降解，实现无痛和长期持续的眼部药物输送。泪溶性隐形眼镜可以适应各种角膜尺寸，然后在一分钟内迅速溶解在泪液中，实现抗炎药物的初始突释。我们在兔模型中证明了该平台在有效治疗慢性眼部疾病（如角膜新生血管形成）方面的效用，而没有表现出与当前标准疗法相比明显的副作用。该平台也可用于治疗其他慢性眼部疾病。
