Advanced Ocular Drug Delivery Approaches Using Tiny Needles-A Potential Long-lasting Treatment for Eye Disease

Glaucoma and corneal neovascularization which is the world leading eye disease could be given new
treatment options by use of tiny microneedles which are small enough to an unaided eye. One of the
leading causes of blindness is glaucoma, which happens when untreated and corneal
neovascularization, causes an additional growth of blood vessels that damage the vision. Due to the
barrier and relative accessibility of the ocular tissue, treating the anterior and posterior segment of the
eye disease is highly challenging. Development of microneedle-based systems is being experimented
with a way where the drug is precisely put into the part of the eye. Microneedles range in length from
400-700 μm could provide a better medium of drug delivery into the eyes and thereby better disease
management. The microneedle technology of drug delivery will be target specific to the eye and
thereby leading to the decrease the quantity of the drug and increasing the effectiveness with minimal
side effects. Thus, coupling this delivery with a controlled release formulation may allow treating a
condition for weeks or months. Thus, this review elucidates on the current research, new technologies
and the design which may act as a potential treatment for retinal disease.