Soon people who need to use medications frequently for eye infections, glaucoma and other health problems may be able to wear contact lenses that provide a sustained release of the medicine they need.
Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently developed and tested prototype drug-eluting contacts with promising results. If these contact lenses are proven successful and commercially viable, they may be a more convenient and reliable drug delivery system than eye drops.
The lenses were created by coating films containing test compounds with a soft contact lens material by using ultraviolet light polymerization.
One compound tested was ciprofloxacin (or “Cipro”), an antibacterial drug with multiple applications. After a brief initial burst, the prototype drug-eluting lenses demonstrated a controlled release of Cipro for more than 4 weeks, and the lenses inhibited ciprofloxacin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria at all time-points tested.
Though additional testing is needed, the researchers concluded that it appears contact lenses like those produced in the study could be used successfully for ocular drug delivery with widespread therapeutic applications.
The full report of the study appears in the July 2009 issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
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