Project Info

Cyinosis Therapy by Gold-In Contact Lens

Anuj Chauhan | chauhan@mines.edu

Cystinosis is a genetic disease that leads to the accumulation of intracellular cystine crystals in all organs including cornea due to the loss of cystine efflux transporters in the lysosome of the cells. Currently patients must take hourly eye-drops to manage the disease. Most patients are not compliant with hourly therapy which makes managing this disease very difficult. We are developing a novel idea of managing this disease by designing contact lenses containing gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles can bind significant amounts of cystine so when a patients will wear a contact lens containing gold nanoparticles, soluble cystine in the eyes will diffuse into the lens and bind, resulting in dissolution of cystine crystals in the eye. It is almost like creating a sponge to such out crystals from the eyes. This novel idea will significantly improve cystinosis therapy thereby changing the lives of the patients. This project is interesting because it proposes a completely new paradigm and also because of potential impact on patients. So it is interesting fundamentally, and also due to potential impact.

More Information

About Cystinosis

In vitro drug release and in vivo safety of vitamin E and cysteamine loaded contact lenses
P Dixon, RC Fentzke, A Bhattacharya, A Konar, S Hazra, A Chauhan
International journal of pharmaceutics 544 (2), 380-391

Grand Engineering Challenge: Engineer better medicines