Thursday, October 9, 2014
For
the
millions
of
sufferers
of
dry
eye
syndrome,
their
only
recourse
to
easing
the
painful
condition
is
to
use
drug-laced
eye
drops
three
times
a
day.
Now,
researchers
from
the
University
of
Waterloo
have
developed
a
topical
solution
containing
nanoparticles
that
will
combat
dry
eye
syndrome
with
only
one
application
a
week.
The
eye
drops
progressively
deliver
the
right
amount
of
drug-infused
nanoparticles
to
the
surface
of
the
eyeball
over
a
period
of
five
days
before
the
body
absorbs
them.
One
weekly
dose
replaces
15
or
more
to
treat
the
pain
and
irritation
of
dry
eyes.
The
nanoparticles,
about
1/1000th
the
width
of
a
human
hair,
stick
harmlessly
to
the
eye’s
surface
and
use
only
five
per
cent
of
the
drug
normally
required.
“You
can’t
tell
the
difference
between
these
nanoparticle
eye
drops
and
water,”
said
Shengyan
(Sandy)
Liu,
an
engineering
doctoral
candidate,
who
led
the
team
of
researchers
from
the
chemical
engineering
department
and
the
Centre
for
Contact
Lens
Research.
“There’s
no
irritation
to
the
eye.”
Dry
eye
syndrome
is
a
more
common
ailment
for
people
over
the
age
of
50
and
may
eventually
lead
to
eye
damage.
More
than
six
per
cent
of
people
in
the
U.S.
have
it.
Currently,
patients
must
frequently
apply
the
medicine
three
times
a
day
because
of
the
eye’s
ability
to
self-cleanse—a
process
that
washes
away
95
per
cent
of
the
drug.
“I
knew
that
if
we
focused
on
infusing
biocompatible
nanoparticles
with
Cyclosporine
A,
the
drug
in
the
eye
drops,
and
make
them
stick
to
the
eyeball
without
irritation
for
longer
periods
of
time,
it
would
also
save
patients
time
and
reduce
the
possibility
of
toxic
exposure
due
to
excessive
use
of
eye
drops,”
said
Liu.
Getting ready for clinical trials
The
research
team
is
now
focusing
on
preparing
the
nanoparticle
eye
drops
for
clinical
trials
with
the
hope
that
this
nanoparticle
therapy
could
reach
the
shelves
of
drugstores
within
five
years.
Liu’s
research
article, co-authored
by
eight
others
including
Frank
Gu and
Lyndon
Jones, recently
ran in
Nano
Research,
the
leading
publication
on
nanotechnology
and
nanoscience.
The
Natural
Sciences
and
Engineering
Research
Council
of
Canada
(NSERC)
and
20/20:
Ophthalmic
Materials
Network
supported
the
research.