Kontaktlinsen als vielversprechende Therapiemittel

Abstract

Purpose. Insights into the scientific research about contact lenses and their development, and information about their use as therapeutic tools for various eye diseases are provid- ed. The specificities of the human eye due to its particular physiology and anatomy are outlined and the relation with the resulting therapeutic difficulties is presented. Therapeutic lenses as bandage and as drug-delivering contact lenses are described. Material and Methods. The topics of the selected literature include relevant developments in biomaterials for contact lenses. Reports and publications on worldwide ocular dis- eases, global current market analysis in the field of eye drops, as well as publications on modern drug release methods for ocular systems tend to depict the topic. Results. As a result of a long-lasting development, contact lenses are worldwide successful on the optical device market. Therapeutic contact lenses as bandage lenses are effective tools in ophthalmic surgery and therapy. Conclusions. Novel therapeutic contact lenses used for ocular drug delivery significantly improve the bioavailability and thus perform better as conventional eye treatments. Keywords copolymers, protein adhesion, vision threatening disorders, blood ocular barrier, therapeutic and bandage contact lenses, ocular drug delivery systems