MICA: Antimicrobial bandage contact lenses

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The cornea is the clear window at the front of the eye. Following surgery or various treatments to the cornea a bandage contact lens will frequently be used to protect the cornea and increase comfort for the patient. To reduce the risk of infection antibiotics will also normally be administered. In this project we will create a new type of contact lens that will combine both these processes. We have developed a novel hydrogel with a high water content, excellent transparency and mechanical properties similar to those of existing hydrogel contact lenses. The specific advantage of this new hydrogel is that it is naturally antimicrobial, unlike any of the existing materials. The hydrogel is synthesised in water at room temperature, whereas existing contact lens materials require the use the toxic solvents during synthesis and then need extensive washing procedures to remove them. We have shown that the novel hydrogel can be cast into a contact lens using existing moulding processes. We hypothesise that use of an antimicrobial bandage contact lens post-surgery or after an intervention such as corneal crosslinking, would increase comfort and reduce infection. In this study we will optimise the composition of the new hydrogel, fully characterise its antimicrobial and biocompatibility properties and evaluate its safety in a human healthy volunteer trial. A second strand of this study will develop a therapeutic contact lens. Corneal infection is one of the commonest conditions affecting the cornea, accounting for 5% of cases of blindness worldwide. Contact lenses worn for vision are associated with a six fold increase in corneal infection. Treatment of corneal infection relies on frequent application of antibiotic drops; routinely every 5-15 minutes for the first 48 hours, then 2-6 hourly over 1-2 weeks. Contact lenses delivering therapeutic doses of antimicrobial drugs in a sustained and controlled manner would provide a more effective treatment strategy and augment conventional treatments. Corneal infection can be caused by both bacteria and fungi with each particular species requiring a different anti-infection drug treatment. We have demonstrated that our novel hydrogel can be loaded with antibiotic and antifungal drugs that are released at therapeutic levels that can kill bacteria and fungi in culture. In this study we will optimise the composition of the hydrogel to develop bandage contact lenses containing specific antibiotic and antifungal drugs that are used to treat corneal infections. We will fully characterise their anti-infection and cell compatibility properties in laboratory experiments using bacteria, fungi and corneal cells in culture and in an organ culture model of the front of the eye. Furthermore we will investigate if the bacteria and fungi species are able to develop resistance to the hydrogel with and without the added drugs using methods that analyse the genetic basis of antimicrobial resistance.During this project we will collaborate with two companies; one with experience in the hydrogel synthesis and the other with extensive experience of contact lens manufacture. At the end of the project we intend to have 1) a bandage contact lens that is safe and has the potential to increase comfort for patients post corneal surgery and to reduce the risk of infection and 2) a therapeutic bandage contact lens that delivers clinically relevant antibiotics and antifungal drugs at therapeutic levels that have been shown to be effective at killing clinically relevant bacteria and fungi in the laboratory.