Nanomaterials for Retinal Detachment Repair

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Nanomaterials for Retinal Detachment Repair Retinal Detachment is a leading cause of blindness, and currently available treatments fail in as many as 1/3 of patients, resulting in partial or complete loss of vision for several million people worldwide. The fundamental principal of retinal detachment repair is closure of the retinal break(s), or tamponade. Current means of tamponade are inadequate for closing retinal holes in all patients. Present internal tamponades such as polydimethylsiloxane fluid or halogenated gases depend on density and float up. They cannot adequately treat inferior retinal holes, leaving large portions of the retina untreated. The ultimate goal is to develop a 360x stable tamponade for treating retina detachment. The heart of the proposed system will be a magnetic polydimethylsiloxane-nanoparticle fluid to be placed into the vitreous cavity by intravitreal injection in a similar manner to that presently utilized for non-magnetic silicone tamponades. It will be securely held in place at a retina break by an external permanent magnet band. The central vitreous cavity (and visual axis) will be free of the magnetic fluid, and there will be no contact between the magnetic fluid and the lens, anterior chamber structures, or macula, thus avoiding the complications of currently available treatment modalities. The objective of this Phase I proposal is to (1) establish that the new magnetic silicone fluid is non-toxic to ocular structures, and (2) to establish feasibility regarding whether the new magnetic system has sufficient magnetophoretic mobility to effectively hold the retina in place.