earticle

영어

Retinopathy of prematurity, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration, are the leading causes of blindness and related with disruption of retinal structure and function. The objective of this study is to confirm that glycol chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) with amine and glycol groups can reach retina and even deeper sub-retinal part than other cationic nanoparticles. To evaluate this possibility, we synthesized self-assembled nanoparticles by conjugation of hydrophilic glycol chitosan and hydrophobic 5β-cholanic acid. As control cationic nanoparticle, PEI-5β-cholanic acid nanoparticles were synthesized by similar amide conjugation. Both nanoparticles were administered to long-Evans rats intravitreally, and we analyzed their movements by fluorescence imaging of ocular tissues. CNPs were able to penetrate vitreous and localized in retina after 1 hour, while PEI nanoparticles stuck in vitreous. Furthermore, some of CNPs could reach sub-retinal part related with age related macular degeneration after 3 days. These results demonstrated that CNPs are promising carriers for ocular delivery to overcome various retinal and sub-retinal diseases.