Applications of Nanobiotechnology in Ophthalmology – Part I

Abstract

Much progress has been achieved in the field of nanotechnology and its applications in ophthalmology. It is evident that drug delivery, gene therapy, implantable devices and regenerative medicine are some of the key areas of active research. To the best of our knowledge, there is limited review work on this subject area in the current literature. To assist the interested clinicians and scientists, this bipartite commentary will focus the discussion on emerging researches in nano-ophthalmology and other enabling technologies that soon may be available in the clinician’s armamentarium to maintain and restore eye sight. This installment will focus on recent discoveries in drug delivery, gene therapy, imaging and visual prostheses; the second installment will discuss the impact of nanotechnology on artificial environment, cell-nanostructure interaction, other enabling nano-ophthalmic technologies, and safety and biocompatibility of nanostructures. We will take this opportunity to introduce some exciting nano-ophthalmic applications under investigation in our laboratory. The accomplishments by the scientific community are tremendous and the future prospects are wide open.

Directed evolution of bacteriorhodopsin for applications in bioelectronics

“…Using a scale set up by nature, one made up of cells, organelles, proteins and molecules, researchers have started to broaden the scope of traditional nanotechnology to include the natural sciences and biology, a term loosely defined as nanobiotechnology [13,14]. Nanobiotechnology refers to the application of nanotechnology to target problems directly relevant to biology [15].…”

“…As the emphasis of nanotechnology switches from mechanical and materials engineering to a more biologically influenced field, researchers have started to redefine the definition of nanotechnology to stress the development of novel chemicals, as well as new materials and devices to study biological systems. Using a scale set up by nature, one made up of cells, organelles, proteins and molecules, researchers have started to broaden the scope of traditional nanotechnology to include the natural sciences and biology, a term loosely defined as nanobiotechnology [13,14]. Nanobiotechnology refers to the application of nanotechnology to target problems directly relevant to biology [15].…”

Nanobiotechnology in the Management of Glaucoma

“…Other studies further report that many patients waste much of the topical medications because of incorrect instillation techniques [13][14][15]. Systemic absorption may precipitate adverse effects [16][17][18][19][20][21] Nanoscale drug delivery systems offer the therapeutic advantages of targeted tissue penetration, enhanced release kinetics, and increased local biodistribution [22][23][24]. In the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medi-cine, the biologic length scale of nanostructures promotes meaningful interactions for tissue repair and regeneration [23].…”

“…Systemic absorption may precipitate adverse effects [16][17][18][19][20][21] Nanoscale drug delivery systems offer the therapeutic advantages of targeted tissue penetration, enhanced release kinetics, and increased local biodistribution [22][23][24]. In the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medi-cine, the biologic length scale of nanostructures promotes meaningful interactions for tissue repair and regeneration [23]. "Nano" was originally defined for the semiconductor industry as having at least one dimension less than 100 nanometer; but the definition of "nano-" has been recast in an operational fashion and many authors use "nano-" to include biologically relevant length scale, such as larger macromolecules and organelles for the fields of nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine [22][23][24].…”

The Neuroprotective and antioxidative effects of submicron and blended <i>Lycium barbarum</i> in experimental retinal degeneration in rats

“…Much progress has been achieved in nanobiotechnology in recent decades. Nanotechnology has improved pharmacokinetics by alterations in nanometric size ranges, improved permeability, resistance to proteolytic and hydrolytic degradation, and enhanced uptake based on functional surface ligands [ 19 ]. Top-down approach is used to extract Lycium barbarum by homogenizer “POLYTRON PT3100” (Kinemativa AG, Littau-Luzern, Swizerland) and “Minipur” (Netzsch-Feinmahltechnik GmbH, Belb, Germany) the laboratory mill to obtain the submicron Lycium barbarum with the particle size as 100 ± 70 nm.…”