Polymers in Ophthalmology

JAVIER CALLES; JOSÉ BERMUDEZ; ENRIQUE VALLÉS; DANIEL ALLEMANDI; SANTIAGO PALMA

Advanced Polymers in Medicine

Springer

Lugar: Switzerland; Año: 2015; p. 147 - 176

Abstract Ophthalmological sciences are disciplines focused in the health of the eyes and related structures, as well as vision, visual systems, and vision information processing in humans; dealing with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. Along time a wide variety of materials, including metals, ceramics and polymers, have been developed and used in different ophthalmic applications. Although, modern ophthalmic devices and drug platforms are made with polymeric materials. Applications of polymers in ophthalmology include vitreous replacement flids, contact lenses, intraocular lenses, artifiial orbital walls, artifiial corneas, artifiial lacrimal ducts, glaucoma drainage devices, viscoelastic replacements, drug delivery systems, sclera buckles, retinal tacks and adhesives, and ocular endotamponades. Both synthetic and natural polymeric biomaterials are used in ophthalmological applications, although in the lasts years most efforts were focused in natural and biocompatible materials, such as gelatin, hyaluronan, chitosan, gums, etc.; developing,tablets, fims, suspensions, nanosystems, inserts, etc. This chapter attempts to offers an insight into the importance of polymers in the design and development of pharmaceuticals platforms used in ocular therapeutics.