A wireless electronic contact lens with controllable drug release

Abstract

The application discloses a wireless electronic contact lens capable of controlling drug release, which comprises a contact lens and an external energy delivery module wirelessly connected with the contact lens. The contact lens comprises a contact lens front base, a drug storage medium which is arranged in superposition with the rear surface of the contact lens front base and can generate phase change under the action of electric energy induced physical change, chemical change or physiological change and release drugs in the conversion process, an energy receiving module which is arranged in superposition with the rear surface of the drug storage medium, generates controllable electric energy according to the acquired wireless signal and realizes controllable electric energy induced physical change, chemical change or physiological change by using the electric energy, and a contact lens rear base which is arranged in superposition with the rear surface of the energy receiving module. The acquired electric energy generates electric-physical change, electric-chemical change or electric-physiological change in a local range, and the physical change, chemical change or physiological change induced by the electric energy can control the drug storage medium to generate phase change and control the speed and dose of drug release from the drug storage medium to the ocular surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the fields of contact lens technology and ocular drug delivery, and more specifically to a wireless electronic corneal contact lens with adjustable drug release. Background Technology

[0002] Ocular surface drug delivery is the first-line, and even primary, treatment for many ophthalmic diseases and discomforts. Currently, commercially available ocular surface drug delivery is mainly achieved through eye drops and ointments. However, these methods lead to a rapid increase in drug concentration in the ocular surface microenvironment within a short period. Excessive drug concentration can irritate or even cause drug-induced damage to ocular surface biological tissues (corneal epithelium, conjunctival epithelium, conjunctival goblet cells, and lacrimal glands). To avoid the side effects of traditional ophthalmic drug delivery, some studies and published patents have incorporated microchannels and drug reservoirs in corneal contact lenses to delay drug release on the ocular surface. For example, Chinese patent CN217409130U discloses a drug delivery contact lens and ophthalmic drug delivery device that utilizes the pressure on the lens during blinking to achieve drug release. While this allows for controlled drug release, the physical structure and chemical properties of these drug delivery contact lens devices, once designed and manufactured, make it difficult to flexibly control the drug release rate. Therefore, it is challenging to meet the personalized drug treatment needs of different disease types, disease severity, and patient physiological conditions. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the purpose of this invention is to provide a wireless electronic corneal contact lens with adjustable drug release.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0005] A wireless electronic contact lens with adjustable drug release includes a corneal contact lens and an external energy delivery module wirelessly connected thereto. The corneal contact lens receives controllable electrical energy transmitted wirelessly from the external module and uses this energy to control physical, chemical, or physiological changes within the lens, thereby controlling phase transitions in the drug storage medium, altering the medium's ability to bind the drug, and thus controllably adjusting the drug release rate or dosage. The corneal contact lens includes:

[0006] Anterior base of corneal contact lens;

[0007] An energy receiving module, superimposed on the posterior surface of the anterior base of the corneal contact lens, generates controllable electrical energy based on acquired wireless signals, and uses the electrical energy and circuit hardware units to realize controllable electrical-induced physical, chemical, or physiological changes;

[0008] The drug storage medium is stacked on the rear surface of the energy receiving module. It can undergo a phase change under the action of electrical energy-induced physical, chemical or physiological changes, realizing the conversion between solid and liquid states. During the process of the drug storage medium changing from solid to liquid state and its conversion, the binding ability of the drug storage medium molecules to drug molecules decreases, thereby releasing the drug.

[0009] The back base of the corneal contact lens is superimposed on the rear surface of the energy receiving module.

[0010] The external energy delivery module is a wireless transmitter with controllable power or energy transmission efficiency.

[0011] The wireless signal is an electromagnetic wave, light, or magnetic field.

[0012] The drug storage medium is made of ion-responsive phase change material or temperature-responsive phase change material.

[0013] The anterior and posterior bases of the corneal contact lens are made of a corneal contact lens material with hydrophilic and oxygen-permeable properties.

[0014] The drug storage medium is a phase change material thin film mixed with or doped with drug molecules.

[0015] The drug storage medium can achieve a solid-liquid phase transition through electrophysiological, chemical, or physiological changes in the energy receiving module, and the drug release rate can be adjusted by controlling the rate of the solid-liquid phase transition.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: According to the wearer's needs, the flexible wireless energy receiving module can acquire electrical energy through external electromagnetic waves, lasers, or other wireless energy transfer methods. The acquired electrical energy induces electrophysiological, electrochemical, and electrophysiological changes within a localized area. These induced physical, chemical, and physiological changes can control the phase transition of the drug storage medium, regulating the rate and dosage of drug release from the storage medium to the ocular surface. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] It should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of each component in a certain specific posture (as shown in the figure). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0023] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "connection," "fixed," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, "fixed" can mean a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; it can mean a mechanical connection or a connection; it can mean a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can mean the internal communication of two elements or the interaction between two elements, unless otherwise explicitly limited. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0024] As shown in the figure, a wireless electronic contact lens with adjustable drug release includes a contact lens and an external energy delivery module wirelessly connected to it. The external energy delivery module and the contact lens are connected wirelessly to achieve energy delivery, and the output power or energy delivery efficiency of the external energy delivery module is controllable, that is, the user can manually adjust the output power or energy delivery efficiency of the energy delivery module.

[0025] The corneal contact lens acquires controllable electrical energy via a wireless signal delivered by an external energy delivery module, and uses this acquired electrical energy to induce physical, chemical, or physiological changes, thereby controllably adjusting the drug release rate or dosage of the corneal contact lens. The corneal contact lens includes:

[0026] The anterior base of the corneal contact lens is made of a transparent material to further reduce the impact on visual perception. It is shaped into a curved disc. The curved disc has a concave surface on one side for the drug storage medium and the energy receiving module. The drug storage medium and the energy receiving module are distributed around the pupil area of ​​the anterior base of the corneal contact lens and are sequentially attached to the concave surface of the anterior base of the corneal contact lens. The pupil area is a circular area with a diameter of 0.5 mm to 8 mm.

[0027] An energy receiving module, which is superimposed on the posterior surface of the anterior base of the corneal contact lens, generates controllable electrical energy based on the acquired wireless signal, and uses the electrical energy to achieve controllable electrical-induced physical, chemical, or physiological changes.

[0028] The drug storage medium is stacked on the rear surface of the energy receiving module. It can undergo a phase change under the action of electrical energy-induced physical, chemical or physiological changes, realizing solid-liquid or gaseous conversion and releasing drugs during the conversion process.

[0029] Electrophysical changes include electro-temperature conversion, electro-optical conversion, and electro-mechanical conversion. Electro-temperature conversion: by setting a resistor, heat is generated by the current acting on the resistor, and phase change is performed on the temperature-sensitive phase change material, that is, the heat generated by the electrical energy obtained by the energy receiving module.

[0030] Electrochemical changes, such as electrochemical reactions and electrophoretic attraction of ion aggregation, occur by attracting anions and cations near the anode and cathode, respectively, leading to an increase in ion concentration in a localized area. This triggers a phase change in ion-responsive phase change materials, that is, changes in ion concentration within the corresponding range are induced by the positive and negative electrodes of the energy receiving module.

[0031] Electrophysiological changes are caused by the attraction or transformation of charged biochemical molecules (such as peptides, proteins, ascorbic acid, and gluconic acid) near the electrodes by electrophoresis, which leads to an increase in the concentration of biochemical molecules in a local area and triggers a phase transition of the phase change material array.

[0032] The energy receiving module is a wireless energy receiving circuit disposed on a polyimide film, polyethylene terephthalate film, polyurethane film, or polyethylene naphthalate film, wherein the conductive material is a metal material, a conductive alloy material, or a conductive nanowire, nanofiber, or two-dimensional conductive nanomaterial.

[0033] It employs micro-nano fabrication (including photolithography, screen printing, and inkjet printing) technology to deposit circuits (one side being a wireless power receiving circuit, and the other side being a phase change polymer array-induced circuit) on both sides of polyimide film, polyethylene terephthalate film, polyurethane film, or polyethylene naphthalate film. Through holes are then created mechanically or with lasers, and conductive materials are used to connect the circuits on both sides through these through holes to form conductive lines, thus fabricating a flexible energy receiving module.

[0034] The posterior base of the corneal contact lens is made of a transparent material to further reduce its impact on visual perception. It is stacked with the posterior surface of the energy receiving module and formed into a curved disc. This curved disc has one side with a concave surface suitable for fitting onto the corneal surface of the eye. When installed in the eye, it does not interfere with eyelid movement. The circumferential direction of its convex surface fits circumferentially with the concave surface of the anterior base of the corneal contact lens, and the drug storage medium and the energy receiving module are enclosed in the sealed space formed by the two.

[0035] The anterior and posterior bases of the corneal contact lens are made of hydrogel with a thickness of less than 100 micrometers. (At the microscopic level, it has a three-dimensional network structure that does not hinder the diffusion of small molecule ophthalmic drugs, similar to a sponge after absorbing water.) Drugs released from the drug storage medium can permeate out of the posterior base and detach from the corneal contact lens. The posterior base of the corneal contact lens is in contact with the corneal surface, thereby enabling the direct release of drugs to the corneal surface.

[0036] The flexible wireless energy receiving module and the drug storage medium are extremely thin and integrated into the corneal contact lens, without affecting the base curve, thickness, diameter, oxygen permeability, surface hydrophilicity, and flexibility of the corneal contact lens itself. Therefore, the wearing comfort and biosafety of this type of drug-release corneal contact lens can be ensured to the greatest extent.

[0037] The wireless signal is an electromagnetic wave, light, magnetic field, or other wireless energy transmission method. The power or energy transmission efficiency can be adjusted directly through the wireless transmitter to change the current or voltage value obtained by the energy receiving module, thereby achieving controllable adjustment of the drug release rate or dosage of the corneal contact lens.

[0038] Even if the drug storage medium undergoes a phase transition, it increases the rate at which drug molecules diffuse from the medium layer to the ocular surface. When a high rate of drug release is not required, the efficiency of wireless power transfer or the power of energy transmission is reduced, thereby weakening the electrical energy in the wireless power receiving module. This causes the drug storage medium to revert from a liquid (or gel) state to a solid state, resulting in a decrease in the rate at which drug molecules diffuse from the medium layer to the ocular surface.

[0039] The drug storage medium is made of ion-responsive phase change material or temperature-responsive phase change material.

[0040] The drug storage medium is a ring-shaped phase change film coated on the surface of the wireless power receiving module, and drug molecules are mixed or doped inside this medium.

[0041] The thermosensitive materials include poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and its composite material mixed with dopants, agar and its composite material mixed with dopants, and disodium dodecahydrate phosphate and its composite material mixed with dopants.

[0042] Ionic materials include pH-responsive gels, calcium ion-responsive gels, sodium ion-responsive gels, potassium ion-responsive gels, and other materials that can cause swelling or shrinkage deformation due to ions.

[0043] As an example, phase change materials undergo liquid-to-solid transitions due to changes in the microenvironment, such as temperature and ion concentration. When wireless power is applied, the microenvironment of the drug storage medium changes through electrothermal and electrochemical processes, causing the medium to transition from a solid to a liquid or gel state. The binding strength of the drug molecules within the storage medium decreases, and the diffusion coefficient of the drug molecules within it is higher. Therefore, drug molecules easily leak out of the storage medium and are eventually released onto the ocular surface through the back of the contact lens. When wireless power is stopped, the storage medium returns to its original state as the temperature and ion concentration within the microenvironment return to normal. At this point, the binding strength of the drug molecules within the solid storage medium is stronger, and the diffusion coefficient of the drug molecules within it is lower. Therefore, it is difficult for drug molecules to leak out of the storage medium, allowing the remaining drug to remain encapsulated within the contact lens and preventing further release onto the ocular surface.

[0044] Example 1

[0045] A method for drug delivery via a wireless electronically temperature-controlled corneal contact lens:

[0046] The flexible wireless energy receiving module obtains electrical energy through an external light source, changing electromagnetic fields, and magnetic fields. The obtained electrical energy regulates temperature changes, causing a phase transition in the temperature-sensitive phase change material. Figure 3 As shown in the figure, the thermosensitive phase change material is poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and its composite material mixed with dopants, agar and its composite material mixed with dopants, and disodium dodecahydrate phosphate and its composite material mixed with dopants. The wireless power receiving module controls the change of ambient temperature to cause the thermosensitive material to undergo a phase change, thereby adjusting the binding ability of the thermosensitive material to drug molecules and controlling the rate and dose of drug molecules released to the ocular surface.

[0047] Example 2

[0048] A method for radiophoretic recruitment of ions to modulate drug release from corneal contact lenses:

[0049] The flexible wireless energy receiving module acquires electrical energy through an external light source, changing electromagnetic fields, and magnetic fields. The acquired electrical energy is then electrophoretically deposited near the anode and cathode by attracting anions and cations, respectively, resulting in an increase in ion concentration in a localized area. Figure 4As shown in the figure, the ion-responsive drug storage layer undergoes a phase transition. The ion-responsive drug storage medium is a pH-responsive gel, a calcium ion-responsive gel, a sodium ion-responsive gel, a potassium ion-responsive gel, and other materials that can cause swelling or contraction deformation due to ions. The ion concentration changes within a local area are achieved through a wireless energy receiving module, causing the ion-sensitive material to undergo a phase transition. This enhances the binding ability of the ion-sensitive material to drug molecules and controls the rate and dose of drug molecule release to the ocular surface.

[0050] The embodiments should not be regarded as limitations on the present invention, but any improvements made based on the spirit of the present invention should be within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wireless electronic contact lens with adjustable drug release, characterized in that: It includes a corneal contact lens and an external energy delivery module wirelessly connected to it. The corneal contact lens obtains controllable electrical energy by receiving energy transmitted wirelessly from the external source, and uses the obtained electrical energy to control physical, chemical, or physiological changes within the corneal contact lens, controlling the phase transition of the drug storage medium, changing the drug storage medium's binding ability to the drug, and thus controllably adjusting the drug release rate or dosage of the corneal contact lens. The corneal contact lens includes: Anterior base of corneal contact lens; An energy receiving module, superimposed on the posterior surface of the anterior base of the corneal contact lens, generates controllable electrical energy based on acquired wireless signals, and uses the electrical energy and circuit hardware units to realize controllable electrical-induced physical, chemical, or physiological changes; The drug storage medium is stacked on the rear surface of the energy receiving module. It can undergo a phase change under the action of electrical energy-induced physical, chemical or physiological changes, realizing the conversion between solid and liquid states. During the process of the drug storage medium changing from solid to liquid state and its conversion, the binding ability of the drug storage medium molecules to drug molecules decreases, thereby releasing the drug. The back base of the corneal contact lens is superimposed on the rear surface of the energy receiving module. The drug storage medium is made of a phase change material, and the phase change is reversible under electrical energy control, thereby enabling continuous regulation of the drug release rate and dosage.

2. The wireless electronic corneal contact lens with adjustable drug release according to claim 1, characterized in that: The external energy delivery module is a wireless transmitter with controllable power or energy transmission efficiency.

3. A wireless electronic contact lens with adjustable drug release according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The wireless signal is an electromagnetic wave, light, or magnetic field.

4. The wireless electronic contact lens with adjustable drug release according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drug storage medium is made of ion-responsive phase change material or temperature-responsive phase change material.

5. The wireless electronic contact lens with adjustable drug release according to claim 1, characterized in that: The anterior and posterior bases of the corneal contact lens are made of a corneal contact lens material with hydrophilic and oxygen-permeable properties.

6. The wireless electronic contact lens with adjustable drug release according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drug storage medium is a phase change material thin film mixed with or doped with drug molecules.

7. A wireless electronic contact lens with adjustable drug release according to claim 6, characterized in that: The drug storage medium can achieve a solid-liquid phase transition through electrophysiological, chemical, or physiological changes in the energy receiving module, and the drug release rate can be adjusted by controlling the rate of the solid-liquid phase transition.

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