RT Journal Article
T1 Intravitreal implants manufactured by supercritical foaming for treating retinal diseases
A1 García González, Carlos A.
A1 Seoane-Viano, Iria
A1 Santos Rosales, Víctor
A1 Díaz Tomé, Victoria
A1 Carracedo Pérez, María
A1 Luzardo Álvarez, Asteria María
A1 Bendicho Lavilla, Carlos
A1 Otero Espinar, Francisco Javier
K1 Supercritical foaming utilizing CO2
K1 PLGA intravitreal implants
K1 Dexamethason
K1 Monoclonal antibodies
K1 Age-related macular degeneration (ADM)
K1 Three (3D)-dimensional printing
AB Chronic retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), are a major cause of global visual impairment. However, current treatment methods involving repetitive intravitreal injections pose financial and health burdens for patients. The development of controlled drug release systems, particularly for biological drugs, is still an unmet need in prolonging drug release within the vitreous chamber. To address this, green supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) foaming technology was employed to manufacture porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-based intravitreal implants loaded with dexamethasone. The desired implant dimensions were achieved through 3D printing of customised moulds. By varying the depressurisation rates during the foaming process, implants with different porosities and dexamethasone release rates were successfully obtained. These implants demonstrated controlled drug release for up to four months, surpassing the performance of previously developed implants. In view of the positive results obtained, a pilot study was conducted using the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab to explore the feasibility of this technology for preparing intraocular implants loaded with biologic drug molecules. Overall, this study presents a greener and more sustainable alternative to conventional implant manufacturing techniques, particularly suited for drugs that are susceptible to degradation under harsh conditions
PB Elsevier
SN 0168-3659
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/32423
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/32423
LA eng
NO Bendicho-Lavilla C, Seoane-Viano I, Santos-Rosales V, Díaz-Tome V, Carracedo-Perez M, Luzardo-Alvarez AM, García-Gonzalez, CA, Otero-Espinar FJ. Intravitreal implants manufactured by supercritical foaming for treating retinal diseases. J Control Release. 2023; 362:342-355
NO I.S.-V. acknowledges Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade for her Postdoctoral Fellowship (Xunta de Galicia, Spain; ED481B-2021-019). Work supported by MICINN [PID2022-142350OB-C21] and [PID2020-120010RB-I00], Xunta de Galicia [ED431C 2020/17], Agencia Estatal de Investigación [AEI] and FEDER funds. Authors would like to thank the use of RIAIDT-USC analytical facilities.
DS Minerva
RD 28 abr 2026