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Bonilla-Vidal L, Espina M, García ML, Baldomà L, Badia J, González JA, Delgado LM, Gliszczyńska A, Souto EB, Sánchez-López E. Novel nanostructured lipid carriers loading Apigenin for anterior segment ocular pathologies. Int J Pharm 2024; 658:124222. [PMID: 38735632 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Dry eye disease (DED) is a chronic multifactorial disorder of the ocular surface caused by tear film dysfunction and constitutes one of the most common ocular conditions worldwide. However, its treatment remains unsatisfactory. While artificial tears are commonly used to moisturize the ocular surface, they do not address the underlying causes of DED. Apigenin (APG) is a natural product with anti-inflammatory properties, but its low solubility and bioavailability limit its efficacy. Therefore, a novel formulation of APG loaded into biodegradable and biocompatible nanoparticles (APG-NLC) was developed to overcome the restricted APG stability, improve its therapeutic efficacy, and prolong its retention time on the ocular surface by extending its release. APG-NLC optimization, characterization, biopharmaceutical properties and therapeutic efficacy were evaluated. The optimized APG-NLC exhibited an average particle size below 200 nm, a positive surface charge, and an encapsulation efficiency over 99 %. APG-NLC exhibited sustained release of APG, and stability studies demonstrated that the formulation retained its integrity for over 25 months. In vitro and in vivo ocular tolerance studies indicated that APG-NLC did not cause any irritation, rendering them suitable for ocular topical administration. Furthermore, APG-NLC showed non-toxicity in an epithelial corneal cell line and exhibited fast cell internalization. Therapeutic benefits were demonstrated using an in vivo model of DED, where APG-NLC effectively reversed DED by reducing ocular surface cellular damage and increasing tear volume. Anti-inflammatory assays in vivo also showcased its potential to treat and prevent ocular inflammation, particularly relevant in DED patients. Hence, APG-NLC represent a promising system for the treatment and prevention of DED and its associated inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Bonilla-Vidal
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical Chemistry, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN(2)UB), University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - M Espina
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical Chemistry, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN(2)UB), University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - M L García
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical Chemistry, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN(2)UB), University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - L Baldomà
- Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), Institute of Research of Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - J Badia
- Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), Institute of Research of Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - J A González
- Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, International University of Catalonia (UIC), 08195 Barcelona, Spain
| | - L M Delgado
- Bioengineering Institute of Technology, International University of Catalonia (UIC), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Gliszczyńska
- Department of Food Chemistry and Biocatalysis, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
| | - E B Souto
- REQUIMTE/UCIBIO, Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Drug Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal; Associate Laboratory i4HB-Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
| | - E Sánchez-López
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical Chemistry, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN(2)UB), University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Unit of Synthesis and Biomedical Applications of Peptides, IQAC-CSIC, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
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Arora S, Goralczyk A, Andra S, Lim SYJ, Toh YC. Development of a Probability-Based In Vitro Eye Irritation Screening Platform. Bioengineering (Basel) 2024; 11:315. [PMID: 38671735 PMCID: PMC11047661 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11040315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Traditional eye irritation assessments, which rely on animal models or ex vivo tissues, face limitations due to ethical concerns, costs, and low throughput. Although numerous in vitro tests have been developed, none have successfully reconciled the need for high experimental throughput with the accurate prediction of irritation potential, attributable to the complexity of irritation mechanisms. Simple cell models, while suitable for high-throughput screening, offer limited mechanistic insights, contrasting with more physiologically relevant but less scalable complex organotypic corneal tissue constructs. This study presents a novel strategy to enhance the predictive accuracy of screening-compatible simple cell models in eye irritation testing. Our method combines the results of two in vitro assays-cell apoptosis and nociceptor (TRPV1) activation-using micropatterned chips to partition human corneal epithelial cells into numerous discrete small populations. Following exposure to test compounds, we measure apoptosis and nociceptor activation responses. The large datasets collected from the cell micropatterns facilitate binarization and statistical fitting to calculate a mathematical probability, which assesses the compound's potential to cause eye irritation. This method potentially enables the amalgamation of multiple mechanistic readouts into a singular index, providing a more accurate and reliable prediction of eye irritation potential in a format amenable to high-throughput screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seep Arora
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore; (S.A.); (A.G.); (S.A.)
| | - Anna Goralczyk
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore; (S.A.); (A.G.); (S.A.)
| | - Sujana Andra
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore; (S.A.); (A.G.); (S.A.)
| | - Soon Yew John Lim
- A*STAR Microscopy Platform, 61 Biopolis Drive, #06-20 Proteos, Singapore 138673, Singapore;
| | - Yi-Chin Toh
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore; (S.A.); (A.G.); (S.A.)
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia
- ARC Training Centre for Cell and Tissue Engineering Technologies, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia
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Rauchman SH, Locke B, Albert J, De Leon J, Peltier MR, Reiss AB. Toxic External Exposure Leading to Ocular Surface Injury. Vision (Basel) 2023; 7:vision7020032. [PMID: 37092465 PMCID: PMC10123707 DOI: 10.3390/vision7020032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The surface of the eye is directly exposed to the external environment, protected only by a thin tear film, and may therefore be damaged by contact with ambient particulate matter, liquids, aerosols, or vapors. In the workplace or home, the eye is subject to accidental or incidental exposure to cleaning products and pesticides. Organic matter may enter the eye and cause infection. Ocular surface damage can trigger a range of symptoms such as itch, discharge, hyperemia, photophobia, blurred vision, and foreign body sensation. Toxin exposure can be assessed clinically in multiple ways, including via measurement of tear production, slit-lamp examination, corneal staining, and conjunctival staining. At the cellular level, environmental toxins can cause oxidative damage, apoptosis of corneal and conjunctival cells, cell senescence, and impaired motility. Outcomes range from transient and reversible with complete healing to severe and sight-compromising structural changes. Classically, evaluation of tolerance and safety was carried out using live animal testing; however, new in vitro and computer-based, in silico modes are superseding the gold standard Draize test. This review examines how environmental features such as pollutants, temperature, and seasonality affect the ocular surface. Chemical burns to the eye are considered, and approaches to protect the ocular surface are detailed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brandon Locke
- Department of Medicine and Biomedical Research Institute, NYU Long Island School of Medicine, Mineola, NY 11501, USA
| | - Jacqueline Albert
- Department of Medicine and Biomedical Research Institute, NYU Long Island School of Medicine, Mineola, NY 11501, USA
| | - Joshua De Leon
- Department of Medicine and Biomedical Research Institute, NYU Long Island School of Medicine, Mineola, NY 11501, USA
| | - Morgan R. Peltier
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, NJ 07753, USA
| | - Allison B. Reiss
- Department of Medicine and Biomedical Research Institute, NYU Long Island School of Medicine, Mineola, NY 11501, USA
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Lebrun S, Chavez S, Nguyen L, Chan R. Further optimisation of a macromolecular ocular irritation test (OptiSafe TM). Cutan Ocul Toxicol 2023; 42:38-48. [PMID: 36669195 PMCID: PMC10381028 DOI: 10.1080/15569527.2023.2170067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OptiSafeTM (OS) is a shelf stable, nonanimal test for ocular irritation. A recent database search found that half of the OS false positive (FP) materials were associated with reactive oxygen chemistries but were not eye irritants in vivo (based on historical rabbit studies by other groups). We hypothesized that naturally occurring tear antioxidants protect the eye from reactive chemistries in vivo and that specific tear chemistries might help explain why some materials are FP for nonanimal tests but are reported as nonirritants in the live animal. To test this hypothesis, a prior study evaluated tear antioxidants and found that the tear antioxidant ascorbic acid, added at human physiological tear levels to the OS test, specifically reduced the measured values for these FPs but did not reduce the true-positive rate. Based on these findings, the OS test method was further optimized. The purpose of the current study was to comprehensively evaluate the performance of the further optimized test method for detection of ocular irritants. MATERIALS AND METHODS The OS test measures chemically induced damage to macromolecules and relates these measured values to ocular irritancy. To improve the performance of OS, we made updates to the material to be tested physiochemical handling procedures, prediction model, and test method to include tear-level concentrations of ascorbic acid. We then retested the 78 chemicals from the prior OS-coded validation study in triplicate and compared the accuracy of the 'nonirritant versus irritant' prediction for the further optimized method with the prior results. RESULTS We report that for the detection of 'nonirritant' versus 'irritant' (GHS NC versus categories 2B/A and 1) test substances, the further optimized OS test with ascorbic acid compared with the original version has a FP rate that is reduced from 40.0 to 22.2%, the false-negative (FN) rate remains at 0.0%, and the accuracy improved from 80.3% to 89.2%. CONCLUSION A comparison to OECD-adopted tests demonstrates that the further optimized OS test, like the original method, has a higher accuracy and lower FN rate for the detection of 'nonirritants' versus 'irritants' (GHS Category NC versus 2B/A and 1) than the other eye irritation tests (BCOP, EpiOcularTM Eye Irritation Test, ICE, Ocular Irritection®, and STE).
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Lebrun S, Chavez S, Nguyen L, Chan R. Expansion of the application domain of a macromolecular ocular irritation test (OptiSafe™). Toxicol In Vitro 2023; 86:105515. [PMID: 36351539 PMCID: PMC9802687 DOI: 10.1016/j.tiv.2022.105515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The OptiSafe (OS) test is shelf-stable, macromolecular eye irritation test that does not include any animal ingredient or component ("vegan"). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the test's accuracy for an expanded application domain for both the original and recently updated OS method. This study involved the testing of additional ocular corrosives and previously excluded foaming agents ("surfactants") using both the original and updated OS methods and then combining these data with prior validation data for a total of 147 chemicals. Predictivity was evaluated by a statistical comparison of the OptiSafe predictions with historical in vivo "Draize" rabbit eye data for the same chemicals (from public databases). We report that for the detection of chemicals not requiring classification for eye irritation [Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) No Category], the accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity were 92.8%, 79.6%, and 100.0%, respectively, for the updated method; for the detection of chemicals inducing extreme eye damage/corrosion (GHS Category 1), the accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity were 79.4%, 71.8%, and 91.7%, respectively, for the updated method. Results indicate that both the original and updated methods have a high accuracy for the expanded application domain that included ocular corrosives and surfactants.
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Lebrun SJ, Chavez S, Chan R, Nguyen L, Jester JV. Modeling the antioxidant properties of the eye reduces the false-positive rate of a nonanimal eye irritation test (OptiSafe). Toxicol In Vitro 2021; 76:105208. [PMID: 34216722 DOI: 10.1016/j.tiv.2021.105208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
We recently identified a group of chemicals that are misclassified by most, if not all, in vitro alternative ocular irritation tests, suggesting that nonanimal tests may not fully model the ocular environment in which these chemicals interact. To address this, we evaluated the composition of tears, the first defense against foreign substances, and identified the presence of antioxidants that could detoxify reactive chemicals that otherwise may be falsely identified as irritants in alternative irritation tests. In this study, we evaluated the effects of tear antioxidants on the ocular irritation scoring of commonly overclassified chemicals (false positives) using the OptiSafe™ ocular irritation test. Six tear-related antioxidants were individually added to the OptiSafe formulation, and the effects on test outcome were determined. Ascorbic acid, the most abundant water-soluble antioxidant in tears, specifically reduced the OptiSafe false-positive rate. Titration curves showed that this reduction occurs at in vivo concentrations and is specific to chemicals identified either as producing reactive oxygen species or as crosslinkers. Importantly, the addition of tear antioxidants did not impact the detection of true negatives, true positives, or other false positives unassociated with reactive oxygen species or crosslinking. These results suggest that the addition of tear antioxidants to in vitro alternative test systems may substantially reduce the false-positive rate and improve ocular irritant detection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sara Chavez
- Lebrun Labs LLC, Anaheim, CA, United States of America
| | - Roxanne Chan
- Lebrun Labs LLC, Anaheim, CA, United States of America
| | - Linda Nguyen
- Lebrun Labs LLC, Anaheim, CA, United States of America
| | - James V Jester
- Department of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
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