Myopia is the most common refractive error of the eye that has affected more than 40% of adults in the United States. For a myopic eye, axial elongation of the eye globe causes light focusing in front of the retina instead of on it. Despite being the most effective therapy to control myopia, the direct use of atropine can exert severe systemic side effects. Conversely, scleral crosslinking of the eye backside is one of the ways to control the retina elongation; however, its clinical procedure involves the application of UV light that can damage corneal cells. Herein, we report on the synthesis of biocompatible porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles using an oil-in-water emulsification for utilization in the delivery of atropine, or genipin, a non-toxic biocompatible scleral crosslinker. The porous microstructure, size, and shape of the microparticles obtained were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. We have synthesized two types of porous PLGA microparticles and studied their loading with genipin or atropine. We explored a sustained release of these agents from the microparticles at pH = 7.4 and 34 °C (the eye backside temperature). Our results show that the sustained release of genipin and atropine can be achieved through both diffusion and degradation mechanisms and can be tuned by controlling the ratio of lactic-to-glycolic acid in the copolymer structure.

Porous polymeric microparticles for delivery of agents to control myopia progression

2019 Spring National Meeting

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