Award details

Targeted Drug Delivery to the Cornea of the Eye Via Thin-Film Slow Release Technology.

ReferenceBB/N022106/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor Professor Andrew Quantock
Co-Investigators /
Co-Supervisors
Dr Charles Heard
Institution Cardiff University
DepartmentOptometry and Vision Sciences
Funding typeResearch
Value (£) 111,052
StatusCompleted
TypeResearch Grant
Start date 01/05/2017
End date 31/08/2018
Duration16 months

Abstract

unavailable

Summary

Getting a drug to where it is needed is essential if it is to be efficient. Some drugs are effective when injected into the bloodstream or taken as tablets. For the cornea at the front of the eye, drugs can also be applied as eye drops. The problem with this, however, is that eye drops flow away from the cornea and end up under the eyelid or in the nasal passage. Thus, the drug in the eye drop is not active where it is needed. To overcome this problem we will bind drugs to thin films, which will be a bit like contact lenses. But the binding of the drug will not be tight. This means that when the film is worn like a contact lens the drug is steadily released into the cornea, exactly where it is needed. A special type of drug called a ROCK inhibitor can help damaged cells in the cornea recover. And because of this we will use a ROCK inhibitor as the drug in our new contact lens-type films, to establish how it is released into the cornea in a more targeted manner than with eye drops.
Committee Not funded via Committee
Research TopicsPharmaceuticals
Research PriorityX – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative Follow-On Fund Super (SuperFOF) [2012-2015]
Funding SchemeX – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme
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