Ocular insert manufactured by multi-jet coaxial electrospinning for the postoperative treatment of cataracts.
In this project, we propose to develop a system for the controlled release of three biomolecules in the eye for the postoperative treatment of cataract surgery. Each drug will be released with a different time-dependent profile, according to the needs of the treatment (see Figure 1). We will manufacture prototypes according to clinical requirements and we will carry out their evaluation in preclinical phases. The system is based on an ocular insert design for placement in the conjunctival sac. This ocular insert will be constructed using the multi-jet coaxial electrospinning technique, which allows the manufacture of membranes made up of very fine fibres, with a core/shell structure that allows to encapsulate the drugs inside the fibre. The release of the drugs will be regulated using biodegradable polymers in the shell part of the fibres, with a rate of release of the drugs dependent on the polymer rate of degradation.
