Drug delivery to the posterior segment of the eye, especially the retina, faces the unique challenges of various anatomical and physiological barriers. Invasive intravitreal injection is currently the mainstream clini...Drug delivery to the posterior segment of the eye, especially the retina, faces the unique challenges of various anatomical and physiological barriers. Invasive intravitreal injection is currently the mainstream clinical approach to posterior eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, and cytomegalovirus retinitis. Repeated injections could be complicated by endophthalmitis, intra- ocular pressure elevation, retinal vascular occlusion, and ret- inal detachment, let alone the psychological and economical burdens suffered by patients （Schwartz et al., 2014）. In view of this, several extended release drug delivery systems have been devised and the idea of encapsulated-cell technology （ECT） has gained popularity in recent decades since its first proposal in the 1960s.展开更多
基金supported by the grants from Hong Kong Research Grant Council(GRF 545#HKU773613M)The University of Hong Kong Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research(201011159005)
文摘Drug delivery to the posterior segment of the eye, especially the retina, faces the unique challenges of various anatomical and physiological barriers. Invasive intravitreal injection is currently the mainstream clinical approach to posterior eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, and cytomegalovirus retinitis. Repeated injections could be complicated by endophthalmitis, intra- ocular pressure elevation, retinal vascular occlusion, and ret- inal detachment, let alone the psychological and economical burdens suffered by patients （Schwartz et al., 2014）. In view of this, several extended release drug delivery systems have been devised and the idea of encapsulated-cell technology （ECT） has gained popularity in recent decades since its first proposal in the 1960s.
