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

该研究项目涉及设计和开发用于治疗青光眼的含药微针阵列（MN）;这是全球不可逆性失明的主要原因，随着年龄的增长而增加。由于MN的亚微米尺寸，它们提供了一种微创的、用户导向的、持续的给药途径。MN将使用来自FDA批准的药物疗法的聚合物及其优化的化学和机械性能进行设计和开发。将使用放射性分析和离体角膜模型评估传统青光眼治疗（滴眼液）和含MN治疗剂的疗效之间的比较。

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.