Biodegradable silicon nanoneedles for ocular drug delivery
Woohyun Park, Van Phuc Nguyen, Yale Jeon, Bongjoong Kim, Yanxiu Li, Jonghun Yi, Hyungjun Kim, Jung Woo Leem, Young L. Kim, Dong Rip Kim, Yannis M. Paulus, Chi Hwan Lee
Abstract
Ocular drug delivery remains a grand challenge due to the complex structure of the eye. Here, we introduce a unique platform of ocular drug delivery through the integration of silicon nanoneedles with a tear-soluble contact lens. The silicon nanoneedles can penetrate into the cornea in a minimally invasive manner and then undergo gradual degradation over the course of months, enabling painless and long-term sustained delivery of ocular drugs. The tear-soluble contact lens can fit a variety of corneal sizes and then quickly dissolve in tear fluid within a minute, enabling an initial burst release of anti-inflammatory drugs. We demonstrated the utility of this platform in effectively treating a chronic ocular disease, such as corneal neovascularization, in a rabbit model without showing a notable side effect over current standard therapies. This platform could also be useful in treating other chronic ocular diseases.