Biomaterial Drug Delivery Systems for Prominent Ocular Diseases

Avin Sapowadia; Delaram Ghanbariamin; Libo Zhou; Qifa Zhou; Tannin Schmidt; Ali Tamayol; Yupeng Chen

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics15071959

Biomaterial Drug Delivery Systems for Prominent Ocular Diseases

Pharmaceutics. 2023 Jul 15;15(7):1959. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15071959.

Authors

Avin Sapowadia¹, Delaram Ghanbariamin^{1

2}, Libo Zhou¹, Qifa Zhou³, Tannin Schmidt^{1

2}, Ali Tamayol^{1

2}, Yupeng Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
² Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
³ Department of Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.

Abstract

Ocular diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma, have had a profound impact on millions of patients. In the past couple of decades, these diseases have been treated using conventional techniques but have also presented certain challenges and limitations that affect patient experience and outcomes. To address this, biomaterials have been used for ocular drug delivery, and a wide range of systems have been developed. This review will discuss some of the major classes and examples of biomaterials used for the treatment of prominent ocular diseases, including ocular implants (biodegradable and non-biodegradable), nanocarriers (hydrogels, liposomes, nanomicelles, DNA-inspired nanoparticles, and dendrimers), microneedles, and drug-loaded contact lenses. We will also discuss the advantages of these biomaterials over conventional approaches with support from the results of clinical trials that demonstrate their efficacy.

Keywords: DNA-inspired janus base nanopieces; biomaterials; hydrogels; nanoparticles; ocular drug delivery; ocular implants.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study is funded by NIH 7R01AR072027, NIH 1R21AR079153-01A1, NSF Career Award 1905785, NSF 2025362, NSF 2234570, NASA 80JSC022CA006, DOD W81XWH2110274, and the University of Connecticut.