Anomalous Optical Properties of KTN:Li Ferroelectric Supercrystals.

We report a spectroscopic investigation of potassium-lithium-tantalate-niobate (KTN:Li) across its room-temperature ferroelectric phase transition, when the sample manifests a supercrystal phase. Reflection and transmission results indicate an unexpected temperature-dependent enhancement of average index of refraction from 450 nm to 1100 nm, with no appreciable accompanying increase in absorption. Second-harmonic generation and phase-contrast imaging indicate that the enhancement is correlated to ferroelectric domains and highly localized at the supercrystal lattice sites.

Development of Triamcinolone Acetonide Nanocrystals for Ocular Administration.

Triamcinolone acetonide (TA) is a powerful anti-inflammatory drug used in the treatment of inflammatory ocular disorders; however, its poor aqueous solubility and ocular anatomical barriers hinder optimal treatment. The aim of this work was to obtain triamcinolone acetonide nanocrystals (TA-NC) to improve ocular corticosteroid therapy. Self-dispersible TA-NC were prepared by the bead milling technique followed by spray-drying, exhaustively characterized and then evaluated in vivo in an ocular model of endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU).

Latanoprost-loaded phytantriol cubosomes for the treatment of glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a degenerative optic neuropathy characterized by increased intraocular pressure that if untreated can result in blindness. Ophthalmological drug therapy is a challenge of great clinical importance due to the diversity of ocular biological barriers which commonly causes limited or no effectiveness for drugs delivered through the eye. In this work, we proposed the development of nanosized cubic liquid crystals (cubosomes) as a new drug carrier system for latanoprost, an anti-glaucoma drug.

Mucoadhesive and responsive nanogels as carriers for sustainable delivery of timolol for glaucoma therapy.

Topical administration to the eye for the treatment of glaucoma is a convenient route because it increases the patient comfort. Timolol can efficiently diminish the intraocular pressure (IOP) of the eye; however the topical application as a solution of timolol maleate (TM) has poor therapeutic index and presents severe side effects. The encapsulation of timolol in nanomaterials has appeared as a technology to increase its residence time in the eye thus achieving a sustained release and consequently diminishing the doses of this drug and their number.

Practical two-photon-absorption cross sections and spectra of eosin and hematoxylin.

We experimentally investigate the two-photon absorption cross sections and spectra of eosin and hematoxylin for applications in nonlinear microscopy. The experiments are carried out on pure samples of the two dyes in DI-water solvent with different concentrations, in the typical range employed in standard staining procedures. Nonlinear fluorescence is excited by a line-shaped beam emitted by a Ti:Sapphire mode-locked laser in the wavelength range from 740 to 880 nm and is detected through a microscope setup.