Multifunctional Ceria Nanocarriers for Topical Application of Antiglaucoma Medications

This project will be devoted to the development of new nanocarrier-based eye drop formulations for glaucoma therapy, which is closely related to the field of “6-3 Nano-medicine”. Glaucoma is known to be the second worldwide leading cause of blindness. To enhance therapeutic efficacy, various dosage forms have been applied to deliver medication for anti-glaucoma treatment. From the perspective of practical use, ocular drug administration via eye drops is a better way for patients. Nano-medicines are making significant impacts in the research area of ocular drug delivery since the nanocarrier-based eye drops show several advantages such as ease of application, good patient acceptance, and increase of drug halflife. Nevertheless, topical application of nanocarrier-based eye drops for intracameral drug administration is known to be severely limited by poor ocular bioavailability due to static and dynamic barriers associated with unique corneal anatomy and intraocular physiology. To circumvent these drawbacks, herein, the project aims to develop multifunctional ceria nanoparticles as delivery carriers for topical application of antiglaucoma medications in disease treatment. Our hypothesis is that the combination of the features of tight junction opening, cell targeting, and antioxidant/antiinflammatory action of the functionalized nanocarriers will improve pharmacological bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy of topical ocular nano-medicines. Compared with traditional eye drops, latanoprost-containing multifunctional ceria nanoparticles can exhibit better performance in glaucoma therapy by reducing dosing amounts and extending dosing intervals. To test these hypotheses, we will focus on the characterization and cytocompatibility of multifunctional ceria nanocarriers in the first year of this project. Further work over the next year will be functional assessment of nanocarriers via ocular tolerability and in vitro/in vivo studies. Studies in the final year will allow us to learn more about pharmacokinetic profiles and therapeutic efficacies of latanoprost-containing nanocarriers in an experimental glaucoma model. The novel ocular nano-medicine will help people who are experiencing vision loss.

Project ID:PG11001-0155
External Project ID:NHRI-EX110-10826EI