Organ Culture System for Assessing the Toxicity of Intraocular Treatment Excipients and Pharmaceuticals.

As the leading cause of blindness, cataracts are a significant burden for the tens of millions of people affected globally by this condition. Chemical exposures, among other environmental factors, are an established cause of cataracts. Ocular toxicity testing can assess whether pharmaceuticals and their components may contribute to lens damage that may lead to cataracts or aid the treatment of cataracts.

Development of an In Vitro Ocular Platform to Test Contact Lenses.

Currently, in vitro evaluations of contact lenses (CLs) for drug delivery are typically performed in large volume vials, which fail to mimic physiological tear volumes. The traditional model also lacks the natural tear flow component and the blinking reflex, both of which are defining factors of the ocular environment. The development of a novel model is described in this study, which consists of a unique 2-piece design, eyeball and eyelid piece, capable of mimicking physiological tear volume.