Reduction of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization by intravitreal vasohibin-1 in monkey eyes.

Purpose: To determine whether intravitreal vasohibin-1 will reduce the grade of the choroidal neovascularization in monkey eyes.

Methods: Choroidal neovascularizations were induced in 12 monkey eyes by laser photocoagulation. Three monkeys were evaluated for the safety of the vasohibin-1 injections, 6 monkeys for the effects of a single injection, and 3 monkeys for repeated injections of vasohibin-1.

A scalable controlled-release device for transscleral drug delivery to the retina.

A transscleral drug-delivery device, designed for the administration of protein-type drugs, that consists of a drug reservoir covered with a controlled-release membrane was manufactured and tested. The controlled-release membrane is made of photopolymerized polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PEGDM) that contains interconnected collagen microparticles (COLs), which are the routes for drug permeation. The results showed that the release of 40-kDa FITC-dextran (FD40) was dependent on the COL concentration, which indicated that FD40 travelled through the membrane-embedded COLs.

Preparation and characterization of collagen microspheres for sustained release of VEGF.

In this study, we prepared injectable collagen microspheres for the sustained delivery of recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor (rhVEGF) for tissue engineering. Collagen solution was formed into microspheres under a water-in-oil emulsion condition, followed by crosslinking with water-soluble carbodiimide. Various sizes of collagen microspheres in the range of 1-30 mum diameters could be obtained by controlling the surfactant concentration and rotating speed of the emulsified mixture.