Research progress of light-responsive drug delivery systems in ocular application

Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems can precisely release drugs at the lesion site under exogenous or endogenous stimuli.Compared to other stimuli, light is non-invasive and offers spatiotemporal specificity.It can precisely control drug release by adjusting parameters such as wavelength, power and irradiation time, which has attracted widespread attention.The eyeball, as a transparent optical system, offers unique advantages for light-responsive drug delivery systems.This paper reviews the research progress in the application of light-responsive drug delivery systems in ophthalmology in the last decade.It covers aspects such as the penetration depth, light energy, and phototoxicity of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light in the eye, the selection of light wavelengths for ocular applications, and summarizes photosensitive groups and their mechanisms of action in drug delivery systems based on photolysis, photoisomerization, photodimerization, and photothermal conversion.In addition, it discusses advances in the use of light-responsive drug delivery systems for corneal drug penetration, posterior segment drug delivery, and the treatment of diseases such as posterior capsular opacification, choroidal neovascularization, endophthalmitis, and refractory keratitis.While light-responsive drug delivery systems hold unique advantages for ophthalmic applications, future research must address issues related to phototoxicity, photothermal damage, biosafety of photosensitive groups, and safety concerns such as illumination frequency and duration.

Drug delivery systems; Ophthalmic administration; Photoresponse; Nanocarrier; Photochemical reaction