Intellectual Property Law

US Patent 7638137 - Contact lens including nanoparticle drug delivery system

Eye drops have previously been used for drug delivery for diseases related to the eye but produce poor penetration through the cornea. This patent from the University of Florida instead teaches a nanoencapsulation system for applying medication using a contact lens. Claim 1 reads:

1. A drug delivery system comprising a contact lens having dispersed therein as nanoparticles having a particle size less than about 50 nm, an ophthalmic drug nanoencapsulated in a material from which said ophthalmic drug is capable of diffusion into and migration through said contact lens and into the post-lens tear film when said contact lens is placed on the eye, said nanoparticles being dispersed within said contact lens in an amount such that said lens remains substantially optically transparent.

Full post as published by TinytechIP on December 29, 2009 (boomark / email).