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Pathologic neovascularization of the retina is a major cause of substantial and irreversible loss of vision. Drugs are difficult to deliver to the lesions in the back of the eye and this is a major obstacle for the therapeutics. Current pharmacological approach involves an intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents to prevent aberrant growth of blood vessels, but it has limitations including therapeutic efficacy and side-effects associated with systemic exposure and invasive surgery. Nanotechnology provides novel opportunities to overcome the limitations of conventional delivery system to reach the back of the eye through fabrication of nanostructures capable of encapsulating and delivering small molecules. This review article introduces various forms of nanocarrier that can be adopted by ocular drug delivery systems to improve current therapy. The application of nanotechnology in medicine brings new hope for ocular drug delivery in the back of the eye to manage the major causes of blindness associated with ocular neovascularization.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	drug delivery, eye, nanocarriers, ocular neovascularization
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Medical biotechnology
Research Field:	Gene and molecular therapy
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Clinical health
Objective Field:	Clinical health not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Liu, GS (Associate Professor Guei-Sheung Liu)
ID Code:	120854
Year Published:	2015
Web of Science® Times Cited:	34
Deposited By:	Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Deposited On:	2017-08-31
Last Modified:	2018-03-16
Downloads:	101 View Download Statistics