Degradable Microneedle Arrays for User-Directed Nanomedicine Delivery for the Treatment of Glaucoma

This studentship involves the design and development of drug containing microneedle arrays (MNs) for the treatment of glaucoma; the leading cause of global irreversible blindness, which increases in prevalence with advancing age. Due to MNs sub-micron size they provide a minimally invasive, user-directed, sustained drug administration route. MNs will be designed and developed using polymers from FDA approved drug therapies and their chemical and mechanical properties optimised for administration. Comparisons between the efficacy of traditional glaucoma treatments (eye drops) and MNs containing therapeutics will be assessed using radiometric analysis and an ex vivo corneal model.