R.P 2.6 Development of Ocular Inserts and Aptamer-Based Delivery Vehicles for Sustained Release of Ocular Therapeutics and TCM Products

Work to be Done

Preclinical animal studies will evaluate the efficacy and safety of liposomes engineered with cornea-binding aptamers to deliver an established drug for DED. A pilot scale-up study will test the efficacy and safety with other dry eye drugs and TCM compounds. Success will lead to extending the aptamer-based delivery to the posterior eye segment. Ocular inserts will be developed with biomaterials that can degrade upon exposure to tear film elements or external triggers like cysteine/glutathione or phosphatase in the tear film, and evaluated for biocompatibility, degradation kinetics, handling, and safety using in vitro models. Incorporation of ocular inserts with drugs, aptamer-based delivery vehicles, and TCM will also be explored. The cell-on-a-chip device (developed in RP2.2) will be used to screen TCM decoctions, herbs, or active compounds selected per the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China for effectiveness against DED, compared to conventional treatment. This will result in the first-ever Natural Drug Candidate Compilation for dry eye treatment.