DEVELOPING PRE-CLINICAL MODELS TO OPTIMISE NANOPARTICLE-BASED DRUG DELIVERY FOR THE TREATMENT OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

Diabetic retinopathy is an age-related condition that is currently managed by controlled delivery of drugs directly to the retina. Although some drug-releasing implants are available, standard treatment involves frequent injection of drugs into the vitreous of the eye. Advances in nanomedicine, new drug therapies and pharmacokinetics hold potential for effective management of the treatment. For this to be successful models are required which characterise the diffusion of nanoparticle (NP) delivery vehicles to the cell layer. To derive accurate concentration-response relationships, it is important to determine the local concentration of NPs to which the cells are actually exposed rather than the nominal concentration of NPs in the cell-culture/biological solution medium.
This project will deliver real time non-invasive label-free tracking technologies that will be used to characterise and quantify NP motion through vitreous fluid and direct interactions with retinal cells using light microscopy. The tracking technology is based upon a "caustics technique" developed by Patterson and Whelan and further adapted by Curran for in vitro applications. The platform technologies and data associated with this proposal will directly contribute to the production of pre-clinical screening models that can be used to quantify the efficiency of nanoparticle based drug delivery regimes in ophthalmology developed by Kearns.
Data derived from the model will be used to design drug delivery models (short and long term) and optimisation of nanoparticle delivery vehicles to enhance treatment for the age related condition of diabetic retinopathy. The development of the model can also be translated to other relevant clinical targets.