Targeting specific regions of the eye when injecting drugs using hypodermic needles has been a challenge that researchers at Georgia Tech are helping overcome. Using tiny stainless steel microneedles less than 1mm in length, the researchers injected fluorescein and fluorescently tagged dextrans, bevacizumab, and polymericparticles into the suprachoroidal space of rabbits’ eyes.
Because of the anatomy of the eye around the suprachoroidal space, injected particles quickly found themselves on the choroid and retina and remained there for months. Not only does the technique allow for drug targeting of the back of the eye, it automatically provides an option for extended release therapeutics.