ABSTRACT
The eye is a superb organ in which to utilize therapeutic nanomaterials. Some of the disease processes that occur in the eye are defects in basement membrane, ischemic events, neovascularization, inflammatory events, and neuronal degenerations. Ocular diseases affect a myriad of cell types including cells of fibroblast origin, endothelial cells, glia, monocyte origin dendritic cells, and neurons. The eye also has a clear medium allowing light to enter the eye and stimulate sensory retinal neurons, photoreceptors, and finally the brain (Fig. 1). In being a clear medium, the investigator can assess the effects of therapeutic nanomaterials in vivo in real time. The most common diseases of the eye are conjunctivitis, cataracts, glaucoma, ischemic retinopathies (ex. diabetic and sickle cell retinopathies) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
