Nanotechnology to treat glaucoma
Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative eye disease that is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. A project from the University of Barcelona (UB) has received a Llavor grant, from the Generalitat de Catalunya, to develop a nanotechnological drug based on natural compounds to treat the degeneration caused by this disorder.
The project is led by Professor María Luisa García as responsible scientist, and with Dra. Elena Sánchez as an entrepreneur, both from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences and the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of the UB (IN2UB).
Currently, the available treatment is drugs applied through eye drops that do not treat neurodegeneration, but are intended to reduce intraocular pressure, a risk factor that not all patients develop. In addition, it is a therapy that can cause adverse effects, such as dry eye, and that does not prevent most patients from having surgery.
Faced with this challenge, UB researchers are developing drops to be administered as eye drops based on second-generation lipid nanoparticles, which contain natural compounds capable of reaching the posterior segment of the eye and treating glaucomatous neurodegeneration in a way prolonged
This innovative compound has demonstrated anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic properties, i.e. the ability to prevent the proliferation of blood vessels, in in vitro studies. It is also able to hydrate the corneal tissues, alleviating the dry eye symptoms that accompany the disease.
Another advantage of the potential drug is that the nanotechnology used is easy to scale for pharmaceutical companies and does not use organic solvents, thus contributing to human and environmental safety.
With the new project, with file number 2023 LLAV 00004, the aim of the researchers is to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of the new compound against glaucoma with in vitro studies where molecular markers of neurodegeneration will be analysed.
This grant is part of the Knowledge Industry program of the Llavor modality of the AGAUR for innovative projects with the potential to be incorporated into the productive sector.