Nanodiamond-drug embedded contact lens shows promise for glaucoma

Researchers from the UCLA School of Dentistry have created a drug delivery system that may have less severe side effects than traditional glaucoma medication and improve patients' ability to comply with their prescribed treatments.

In the study, appearing in the Feb. 8 issue of ACS NANO, timolol maleate was bound together with nanodiamonds and embedded onto contact lenses. The medication is released into the eye when it comes into contact with lysozyme in the patient's tears.

Nanodiamonds, which are byproducts of conventional mining and refining processes, are approximately five nanometers in diameter and are shaped like tiny soccer balls. They can be used to bind a wide spectrum of drug compounds and enable drugs to be released into the body over a long period of time.

"Delivering timolol through exposure to tears may prevent premature drug release when the contact lenses are in storage and may serve as a smarter route toward drug delivery from a contact lens." said Kangyi Zhang, co-first author of the study.