Nanowafer May Replace Eye Droppers

Using an eye dropper  is often an ineffective and uncomfortable way to administer eye medicine. Normal blinking and tearing can clear the medicine away so that the medicine has to be re-administered multiple times per day and often there are sides effects like inflammation. 

In an article called “Ocular Drug Delivery Nanowafer with Enhanced Therapeutic Efficacy” published in ACS Nano, researchers Ghanashyam Acharya, Stephen C. Pflugfelder and colleagues from the Baylor School of Medicine discuss how they have developed a “nanowafer” technology to better deliver eye medicine. From the article: “In a new approach, Acharya’s team developed a clear, round film — which for humans would be about one-tenth the size of a typical contact lens — embedded with tiny pockets that can hold and release medicine slowly over time. The film then dissolves completely. In mice, the wafer was twice as effective as eye drops and didn’t cause inflammation that can lead to side effects. The team concludes that the wafer could be used to treat eye injuries and other conditions such as chronic dry eye and glaucoma.” Read more at: http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2015/acs-presspac-february-4-2015/an-end-to-the-medicine-dropper-for-eye-injuries.html

Article Info:
ACS Nano, 2015, 9 (2), pp 1749–1758
DOI: 10.1021/nn506599f