Event Abstract Back to Event Controlled release of multilaminated therapeutic lens containing drug Ji Yun Lee1, Dongjune Chung1 and Jong Hyun Ko1 1 Sungkyunkwan university, Department of interdisciplinary material science and engineering, Korea The ophthalmic diseases are occurred by increase of intraocular pressure. In other words, impediment of blood supply occurred from the ophthalmic nerves which were pressed by intraocular pressure on eye-ball. When the blood supply fails, the optic nerve is damaged and such damaged optic nerve causes eye disease. The success of the therapy of eye disease with ophthalmic drugs strongly depends on achieving sufficient drug concentration on the cornea for a sufficient period of time, but the typical delivery of drugs by eye drops which currently account for more than 90% of all ophthalmic formulations is very inefficient because drug is washed out mostly by tears and in some instances leads to serious side effects.[1] The bioavailability of ophthalmic drugs can be improved by a soft contact lens-based ophthalmic drug delivery system. It was reported that the drug is delivered to the cornea better when both hydrophilic groups and hydrophobic groups on the drug. Therefore, in this study, drug-soaking therapeutic contact lens was manufactured to increase treatment effect in extending duration of drug in eyeball. And further laminating acetazolamide to the lens, the lens was prepared in the multi-layer structure which can release the drug in stable pace. Radical solution polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), methylacrylate (MA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) in the presence of a model compound, acetazolamide, were conducted using UV light and photo initiators. HEMA, MA monomer mixture and EGDMA were blended with the ratio of 17:1. And 1% Indomethacin (based on the monomer mixture weight) was inserted as releasing drug to manufacture drug-soaking therapeutic contact lens. To create a multilayer lens, after dissolving acetazolamide to monomer mixture to be used in outside layer, it was applied to the synthesis lens and photo-polymerization to obtain a multilayer lens. Specifically the hydrophobic concentration profiles were 0.125 wt%, 0.25 wt%, 0.5 wt% and 0.75 wt%, respectively. The mechanical properties and biological stability of therapeutic lens investigated. The manufactured lens was analyzed by FT-IR, visible light transmittance, contact angle, oxygen transmissibility (Dk) and swelling ratios. The biological stability was investigated through MTT assay. And release behavior of therapeutically relevant concentrations of drug was observed over 3 days. The synthesis of random copolymer was identified to FT-IR. Compared with common lens, it was confirmed that the lens was transparency exhibiting a transmittance more 90%. The swelling ratio was 35~40% and MTT assay indicated that all synthesized therapeutic lens was showed biocompatibility. Some noticeable differences in multi laminate among therapeutic lens having approximately the same drug content were revealed. The control group (not laminated), with a conventional drug release, shows a typical first-order release behavior: an initially high release rate followed by a rapidly declining drug release rate (drug burst effect). On the other hand, Multi laminated therapeutic lens with variation in the drug concentration group shows to control release pattern. Compared with the over 0.5wt% laminating concentration, 0.2wt% laminating concentration sample was shows high release rate initially. It was confirmed that 0.75wt% laminating concentration sample was release the drug on very steady pace more than 3days. The results indicated that photo laminating process provides a method to control initial drug burst.