Wireless electronic corneal contact lens capable of regulating and controlling drug release

Abstract

The invention discloses a wireless electronic corneal contact lens capable of regulating and controlling drug release, which comprises a corneal contact lens, the corneal contact lens is provided with a wireless energy receiving module, a counter electrode and a working electrode, the counter electrode and the working electrode are electrically connected with the wireless energy receiving module, the corneal contact lens is further provided with an energy delivery module, and the energy delivery module adjustably changes the electric energy of the wireless energy receiving module. The wireless energy receiving module is connected with the counter electrode and adjusts the potential difference between the counter electrode and the working electrode in real time, the surface of the working electrode is provided with a plurality of microstructures used for constraining medicine molecules, and the wireless energy receiving module changes the constraining force of the working electrode on the medicine molecules by adjusting an electric field line between the counter electrode and the working electrode. And the drug molecules can migrate along the electric field lines. The wireless energy receiving module is used for obtaining electric energy, conveying charges to the working electrode and regulating and controlling the potential of the working electrode, controllable desorption of drug molecules is caused by the controllable charges, and the potential difference is used for enabling the drug molecules to cross a biological barrier to migrate to target tissue in an ion phoresis mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention specifically relates to a wireless electronic contact lens capable of regulating drug release. Background Art

[0002] Ocular drug delivery is the main treatment means for many ophthalmic diseases. However, current ocular drug delivery means, such as eye drops, ointments, and drug - releasing contact lenses, are difficult to achieve effective treatment of diseases because the drug delivery rate, dose, etc. cannot be precisely controlled, and they are prone to cause side effects and complications. Therefore, it is difficult to meet the personalized drug treatment needs of different disease types, different disease degrees, and different patient physiological conditions. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Aiming at the deficiencies of the existing technology, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a wireless electronic contact lens capable of regulating drug release.

[0004] To achieve the above - mentioned purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: A wireless electronic contact lens capable of regulating drug release, which includes a contact lens composed of a front base of the contact lens and a rear base of the contact lens. A wireless energy receiving module, a counter - electrode electrically connected thereto, and a working electrode are provided between the front base of the contact lens and the rear base of the contact lens. It further has an energy delivery module wirelessly connected to the wireless energy receiving module. The energy delivery module can adjustably change the electric energy of the wireless energy receiving module and can adjust the potential difference between the counter - electrode and the working electrode in real time. A plurality of microstructures for binding drug molecules are provided on the surface of the working electrode. The wireless energy receiving module changes the binding force of the working electrode on the drug molecules by adjusting the electric field lines between the counter - electrode and the working electrode, and enables the drug molecules to migrate along the electric field lines.

[0005] The microstructures can be prepared by physical or chemical etching, laser ablation, electrodeposition, sputtering, or thin - film deposition processes.

[0006] The surface of the working electrode has chemical groups capable of binding drug molecules through surface modification technology.

[0007] The chemical groups are any one of amino group, carboxyl group, sulfonic acid group, hydroxyl group, and methyl group.

[0008] The wireless energy receiving module, the counter - electrode, and the working electrode are arranged at positions outside the pupil area.

[0009] The wireless energy receiving module is a photoelectric converter that can convert external light into electric energy or a wireless power receiving circuit that can convert the received electromagnetic field or magnetic field into electric energy.

[0010] The working electrode and the counter electrode are made of a composite material formed by a metal, a conductive polymer, or a combination of a conductive polymer and a metal or an oxide.

[0011] Advantages of the present invention: The flexible wireless energy receiving module can obtain electrical energy through external light energy, a changing electromagnetic field, a changing magnetic field, or other wireless energy transmission methods, deliver charges to the working electrode, and regulate the potential of the working electrode. The microstructures existing inside and on the surface of the working electrode can have a binding effect on drug molecules. The charges transmitted to the working electrode cause the drug molecules to desorb. Moreover, the electric field formed by the potential of the working electrode relative to the counter electrode can drive the desorbed drug molecules to migrate across the biological barrier to the target tissue in the form of ionophoresis. In addition, the amount of charge transmitted to the working electrode and the potential of the working electrode can respectively regulate the release dose and delivery rate of the drug molecules. Description of the Drawings

[0012] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the contact lens of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 It is a schematic principle diagram of the present invention. Detailed Embodiments

[0014] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than 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 making creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0015] It should be noted that the following is the preferred embodiment of the embodiments of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art in the technical field, without departing from the premise of regulating the release rate and dose of drugs by the wireless energy transmission of the present invention, several improvements can be made to the layout and circuit structure of the wireless energy receiving module, the shape of the flexible wireless circuit, the shape of the electrode, the surface modification of the contact lens, the base curve and structural parameters of the contact lens. In addition, the wireless drug release regulation system can also be integrated on wearable or implantable ophthalmic platforms such as scleral contact lenses, intraocular lenses, capsular tension rings, and aqueous humor drainage devices. These improvements are also regarded as the protection scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0016] The present invention discloses a wireless electronic contact lens capable of regulating drug release, which comprises a contact lens composed of a front base of the contact lens and a rear base of the contact lens. A wireless energy receiving module, a counter electrode and a working electrode electrically connected thereto are provided between the front base of the contact lens and the rear base of the contact lens. It further comprises an energy delivery module wirelessly connected to the wireless energy receiving module. The energy delivery module can adjustably change the electric energy of the wireless energy receiving module and regulate the potential difference between the counter electrode and the working electrode in real time. A plurality of microstructures for binding drug molecules are provided on the surface of the working electrode. The wireless energy receiving module changes the binding force of the working electrode on the drug molecules by adjusting the electric field lines between the counter electrode and the working electrode, and enables the drug molecules to migrate along the electric field lines.

[0017] Among them, the energy transmission mode can be adjusted according to the needs of the wearer. The flexible wireless energy receiving module can obtain electric energy through external electromagnetic waves, lasers or other wireless energy transfer methods.

[0018] In addition, the flexible wireless energy receiving module delivers charges to the working electrode and regulates the potential of the working electrode. Special microstructures exist inside and on the surface of the working electrode, and these microstructures can bind to ionic drug molecules (through mechanisms such as hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces).

[0019] The charges transmitted to the working electrode can reduce the binding effect of the microstructures inside and on the surface of the working electrode on the drug molecules, resulting in the desorption of the drug molecules from the microstructures to become free drug molecules. On the other hand, the potential difference forms an electric field between the working electrode and the counter electrode, which can drive the migration of ionic drug molecules, thereby crossing biological barriers (such as biological tissues such as the cornea, conjunctiva, and sclera and physiological fluids such as tears).

[0020] When it is necessary to reduce the drug delivery dose and delivery rate, the wireless energy transfer efficiency or the power of the energy emission is reduced, thereby weakening the electric energy in the wireless energy receiving module. This will slow down the amount of charge transmitted to the working electrode and reduce the electric field strength between the working electrode and the counter electrode, causing the desorption rate of ionic drug molecules from the microstructure working electrode to decrease and slowing down the migration rate of ionic drug molecules, thereby reducing the drug delivery dose and delivery rate. After completely stopping the wireless electric energy delivery, no charge will be transmitted to the working electrode and the potential difference between the working electrode and the counter electrode is zero. At this time, the microstructures of the working electrode still maintain a binding effect on the drug molecules through mechanisms such as hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces, which will greatly reduce the desorption and migration behavior of the drug molecules, thereby stopping the drug delivery to the ocular biological tissues.

[0021] The thicknesses of the flexible wireless energy receiving module and the drug storage medium are very thin and are both integrated within the contact lens, without affecting the base curve, thickness, diameter, oxygen permeability, surface hydrophilicity, and flexibility of the contact lens itself. Therefore, the wearing comfort and biosecurity of such drug-releasing contact lenses can be ensured to the greatest extent. Moreover, by regulating the wireless energy transfer efficiency or the power of the energy emission, the changes in temperature and ion concentration within a local area of this contact lens can be effectively controlled, effectively ensuring that the temperature is within a safe range.

[0022] The flexible wireless energy receiving module can obtain electrical energy through external electromagnetic waves, lasers, and other wireless energy transmission methods. The working electrode is a conductive material with a microstructure and a relatively large specific surface area.

[0023] The flexible wireless energy receiving module can be prepared by processes such as photolithography thin film deposition, screen printing, printing, electrodeposition, and chemical deposition. The microstructure of the working electrode can be prepared by physical or chemical etching, laser ablation, electrodeposition, sputtering, thin film deposition, etc. To improve the adsorption ability of the working electrode microstructure to drug molecules, surface modification means such as chemical grafting and coating can be used to modify the working electrode.

[0024] Through physical (microstructure) and chemical (surface modification means such as chemical grafting and coating), the working electrode not only has a very large specific surface area, but also the surfaces of these microstructures carry special chemical groups (such as amino, carboxyl, sulfonic acid, hydroxyl, methyl, and other functional groups). This combined physical and chemical means endows the microstructure of the working electrode with characteristics such as hydrophilicity / hydrophobicity and physical fields, thereby enabling it to exert a binding effect on the drug molecules inside. When the charge obtained from the outside is transferred to the working electrode, it can reversibly change the binding effect of the functional groups on the surface of the microstructure on the drug molecules, thereby controlling the desorption of the drug molecules.

[0025] The wireless energy receiving module, counter electrode, and working electrode are arranged at positions outside the pupil area to ensure that the wearer has an unobstructed field of vision.

[0026] The wireless energy receiving module is a photoelectric converter that can convert external light into electrical energy or a wireless power receiving circuit that can convert the received electromagnetic field or magnetic field into electrical energy.

[0027] The wireless energy receiving module deployed on the contact lens is a photoelectric converter or a wireless power receiving antenna. When an external light source irradiates the contact lens, the photoelectric converter can convert the irradiated light energy into electrical energy. When a wireless transmitting antenna or a rotating magnetic field constructs an electromagnetic field or a magnetic field that changes at a certain frequency in the external space, the wireless power receiving antenna and its matching circuit can fully convert the changing electromagnetic field or magnetic field into electrical energy. The electrical energy transmitted wirelessly acts on the working electrode, causing the working electrode to obtain charges and regulate the potential of the working electrode, resulting in a decrease in the binding ability of the working electrode to drug molecules, causing the drug molecules to desorb and driving the migrated drug molecules after desorption, thereby controlling the dose and rate of drug molecules released from the contact lens to the ocular surface.

[0028] The electrical energy obtained from the outside is transmitted to the working electrode, reducing the formation of an electric field in the biological medium between the working electrode and the counter electrode. This electric field can not only drive and control the migration of charged substances and molecules through the iontophoresis mechanism, but also drive and control the migration of neutral (uncharged) substances and molecules through the electroosmotic flow mechanism. Therefore, this method can achieve a driving and controlling effect on the delivery process of various drug molecules into biological tissues.

[0029] The embodiments should not be regarded as limiting 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 for controllable drug release, characterized in that: It includes a contact lens composed of a front base of the contact lens and a rear base of the contact lens, and a wireless energy receiving module, a counter electrode and a working electrode electrically connected thereto are provided between the front base of the contact lens and the rear base of the contact lens. It also has an energy delivery module wirelessly connected to the wireless energy receiving module. The energy delivery module can adjustably change the electric energy of the wireless energy receiving module and adjust the potential difference between the counter electrode and the working electrode in real time. A plurality of microstructures for binding drug molecules are provided on the surface of the working electrode. The wireless energy receiving module changes the binding force of the working electrode on the drug molecules by adjusting the electric field lines between the counter electrode and the working electrode, and enables the drug molecules to migrate along the electric field lines.

2. The wireless electronic contact lens capable of regulating drug release according to claim 1, wherein: The microstructure can be prepared by physical or chemical etching, laser ablation, electro-deposition, sputtering, thin film deposition processes.

3. The wireless electronic contact lens capable of regulating drug release according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The surface of the working electrode has chemical groups capable of binding drug molecules through surface modification technology.

4. The wireless electronic contact lens for adjustable drug release according to claim 3, wherein: The chemical group is any one of amino group, carboxyl group, sulfonic acid group, hydroxyl group, methyl group.

5. The wireless electronic contact lens capable of regulating drug release according to claim 1, wherein: The wireless energy receiving module, the counter electrode and the working electrode are arranged at positions outside the pupil area.

6. The wireless electronic contact lens for adjustable drug release according to claim 1, wherein: The wireless energy receiving module is a photoelectric converter that can convert external light into electric energy or a wireless power receiving circuit that converts the received electromagnetic field or magnetic field into electric energy.

7. A wireless electronic contact lens for controllable drug release according to claim 1, characterized in that: The working electrode and the counter electrode are made of metal, conductive polymer or a composite material formed by a conductive polymer and metal, oxide.

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