Drug Eluting Contact Lenses

描述（由申请人提供）：在完成我的眼科实习后，我在马萨诸塞州眼耳医院（MEEI）开始了为期2年的独特的角膜研究。在第一年，我在麻省理工学院的兰格实验室几乎完全从事基础科学研究，导师是Daniel Kohane医学博士和Claes Dohlman医学博士。除了角膜组织工程项目，我们还开发了一种药物洗脱隐形眼镜。我的主要临床兴趣是角膜疾病的治疗。对于大多数患者来说，除了眼手术后使用的抗生素等药物外，没有其他选择。此外，绷带隐形眼镜通常与抗生素一起使用。本研究将努力创造一种新的眼部药物输送模式：药物洗脱隐形眼镜。在进行动物实验之前，台式研究将继续进行设计修改和药物释放研究。体内研究遵循一个自然的过程，从研究药物洗脱隐形眼镜在正常生理条件下的效果，到将其用于治疗疾病（细菌性角膜炎和青光眼）。这个在化学工程、微生物学和眼部给药方面的指导研究项目，结合适当的课程，旨在培养用生物技术方法解决医疗问题和眼部给药的能力。我将在我现在的导师Daniel Kohane（聚合物给药专家）和James Chodosh（动物疾病模型专家）的指导下继续研究。MEEI是眼科研究领域的领导者。麻省理工学院的兰格实验室提供世界一流的聚合物技术教育。这项研究将在一个由科学家和临床科学家组成的团队的支持下进行，他们曾在大学环境中指导过100多名私家侦探。他们在各自领域的专业知识将丰富我与团队成员之间的个人关系。他们将帮助我完成研究目标并指导我的职业发展。因此，这个项目将培养我成为一名独立研究者所需的能力和方法，并可能成为下一代临床科学家的领导者。相关性（见说明书）：药物洗涤隐形眼镜将提供一种替代眼药水的方法，眼药水是一种效率低下的给药系统，难以自我给药，含有诱发过敏的防腐剂，与眼睛接触的时间有限，并且不能用于许多药物。更重要的是，它们将提供一种治疗眼疾的可能性，而目前这些药物还不能以滴剂的形式提供。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): After completing my ophthalmology residency, I began a unique 2 year cornea fellowship at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary (MEEI). During the first year, I worked nearly exclusively on basic science research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Langer Lab, mentored by Daniel Kohane, MD, PhD and Claes Dohlman, MD, PhD. Along with cornea tissue engineering projects, we developed a drug-eluting contact lens. My principal clinical interest is in the treatment of cornea diseases. For most patients there is no alternative to topical solutions (drops) for medications such as antibiotics used after eye surgery. In addition, bandage contact lenses are often used in conjunction with antibiotics. This research will endeavor to create a new mode of ocular drug delivery: drug-eluting contact lenses. The benchtop research will continue with experiments in design modification and drug release studies before progressing to animal studies. The in vivo research follows a natural progression from studying the drug-eluting contact lens's effect under normal, physiologic conditions to its use as a treatment of disease (bacterial keratitis and glaucoma). This mentored research project in chemical engineering, microbiology, and ocular drug delivery, in conjunction with the appropriate coursework, aims to develop competence in biotechnological approaches to medical problems and ocular drug delivery. I will continue the research under my current mentor Daniel Kohane, an expert in polymer drug delivery, and James Chodosh, an expert in animal disease models. MEEI is a leader in ophthalmic research. MIT's Langer lab offers a world-class education in polymer technology. The research will be conducted with the support of a team of scientists and clinician-scientists who have mentored over a 100 private investigators in university settings. The personal relationship that I already have with the team members will be enriched by their expertise in their respective fields. They will help me to accomplish the research aims and mentor my career development. Thus, this program will foster the abilities and approach necessary to train me to become an independent investigator and possibly a leader in the next generation of clinician-scientists. RELEVANCE (See instructions): Drug eluting contact lenses would provide an alternative to eye drops, which are inefficient delivery system that can be difficult to self-administer, contain allergy-inducing preservatives, have a limited contact time with the eye, and cannot be used for many medications. More importantly, they would offer the possibility of treating eye diseases with a host of medications that cannot currently be delivered in a drop form.