Porous photonic crystals for drug delivery to the eye

Abstract

A minimally invasive controlled drug delivery system for delivering a particular drug or drugs to a particular location of the eye, the system including a porous film template having pores configured and dimensioned to at least partially receive at least one drug therein, and wherein the template is dimensioned to be delivered into or onto the eye.

1 . A method of preparing a device for controlled drug delivery to a location of the eye comprising:
 providing a porous nanostructured silicon-containing template having pores configured to receive a particular drug, said template being sized and configured to be delivered into or upon a surface of the eye; and   loading the template with the drug.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising providing one of a silicon template, a SiO 2  template, and a SiO 2 /polymer composite template. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising disposing one of an organic polymer, an inorganic polymer, and a bio polymer in the template. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising removing the template from the polymer by one of chemical corrosion and dissolution. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising sizing and configuring the template to be a carrier configured to be included in a contact lens. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising placing the contact lens in abutment with a front extraocular surface. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising sizing and configuring the template to be a scleral plaque for the retrobulbar surface of the eye. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  7  further comprising suturing the scleral plaque to the retrobulbar surface. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising fracturing the template into micron-sized particles. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising injecting the particles intraocularly. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising configuring the particles to have a monitorable optical response depending on a quantity of drug disposed in the pores. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising configuring the particles to have a monitorable optical response depending on the amount of porous material present. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising trapping the drug or drugs in the pores by oxidizing the porous template around the drug or drugs. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising configuring inner walls of the pores to enhance binding efficacy of the at least one drug and to tune release profiles of said pores. 
   
   
       15 . A minimally invasive controlled drug delivery device for delivering a particular drug or drugs to a particular location of the eye, said device comprising:
 a porous film template having pores configured and dimensioned to at least partially receive at least one drug therein; and   wherein said template is dimensioned to be delivered into or onto the eye.   
   
   
       16 . The device of  claim 15  wherein said template comprises one of a Si film, a SiO 2  film, Si/polymer film and SiO 2 /polymer film. 
   
   
       17 . The device of  claim 15  wherein said pores are dimensioned and configured to have pore size ranging from approximately 1 nanometer to 1 μm. 
   
   
       18 . The device of  claim 15  further comprising inner walls of said pores being configured to enhance binding efficacy of the at least one drug and to tune release profiles of said pores. 
   
   
       19 . The device of  claim 18  where said inner walls are configured to be chemically modified by one of the group consisting of functional alkenes, silicon oxide, functional organohalides, and metals. 
   
   
       20 . The device of  claim 15  further comprising an oxidized porous template configured to trap the drug or drugs in the pores. 
   
   
       21 . The device of  claim 15  wherein said template comprises fractured micron-sized particles configured and dimensioned for intraocular injection. 
   
   
       22 . The device of  claim 15  wherein said template comprises a carrier of a contact lens configured and dimensioned to contact a front extraocular surface of the eye. 
   
   
       23 . The device of  claim 15  wherein said template comprises an episcleral plaque configured and dimensioned to contact a retrobulbar surface of the eye. 
   
   
       24 . The device of  claim 15  wherein said pores are further configured and dimensioned to have monitorable optical code. 
   
   
       25 . The device of  claim 24  further comprising monitoring means for monitoring release of the at least one drug from said pores. 
   
   
       26 . The device of  claim 25  wherein said monitoring means comprises one of the group consisting of visual inspection, digital imaging, laser eye scan and spectroscopic observation of the particles in an eye to monitor changes in a refractive index of the particles. 
   
   
       27 . The device of  claim 15  wherein said drug or drugs comprises one of the group consisting of angiostatic steroids, metalloproteinase inhibitors, VEGF, pigment epithelium derived factor, an 8-mer peptide fragment of urokinase, modified RNA, modified DNA, fragments derived from immunoglobulins, and dexamethasone. 
   
   
       28 . A minimally invasive controlled drug delivery system for delivering a particular drug or drugs to a particular location of the eye, said system comprising:
 a device according to  claim 15 ; and   monitoring means for determining changes in the optical code.   
   
   
       29 . The system of  claim 28  wherein said porous template means comprises one of Si film particles, SiO 2  film particles, Si/polymer film particles and SiO 2 /polymer film particles for intraocular injection. 
   
   
       30 . The system of  claim 28  wherein said porous template means comprises an episcleral plaque configured to contact a retrobulbar surface of the eye. 
   
   
       31 . The system of  claim 28  wherein said porous template means comprises a carrier of a contact lens configured to contact a front extraocular surface of the eye.