Biomaterial Drug Delivery Systems for Prominent Ocular Diseases

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.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of different sections of the human eye (A), conventional drug delivery techniques (B), and novel drug delivery techniques (C).

Figure 2

Different nanocarriers for ocular drug delivery. Reproduced from Weng et al. [110] under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Figure 3

Self-assembly of nanomicelles and drug encapsulation. Reproduced from Vaishya et al. [128] with permission.

Figure 4

Structure and assembly of (A) JBNTs and (B) nanopieces with RNA as nano-rod delivery vehicles. Reproduced from Sands et al. [149] with permission.

Figure 5

Illustration of a generation 4 (G4) dendrimer with 64 amino groups at the periphery. Image reproduced from Abbasi et al. [154] under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Figure 6

Three main types of microneedle patches for ocular drug delivery. Reproduced from Gupta et al. [160] with permission.

Figure 7

Digital photograph of a dissolvable polymeric microneedle patch supported by a convex polymer (a), stereomicroscopic image with a scale bar of 1 mm (b), and a magnified stereomicroscopic image with scale bar of 200 µm (c). Figure 7 was reproduced from Roy et al. [164] with permission.

Figure 8

Placement of a drug-loaded contact lens on the cornea for ocular drug delivery. Image reproduced from Franco et al. [166] under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).