Project description
New drug delivery system for retinal disorders
Retinal disorders, including age-related macular oedema and diabetic retinopathies, are amongst the major causes of blindness. Effective treatment often requires monthly ocular injections, which can cause harmful side effects and pain. This is why some patients avoid or discontinue treatment. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ODiN project will develop a drug delivery system using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) combined with trans-scleral iontophoresis to enhance drug penetration into the eye for the treatment of retinal disorders. It will use statin-loaded LNPs, repurposing them for their pleiotropic properties. Research will focus on their design, formulation and testing with isolated porcine eyes, following ethical guidelines. The goal is to create a sustainable system that reduces the need for invasive treatments.
Objective
Retinal disorders such as age-related macular edema, diabetic retinopathies, retinitis pigmentosa and glaucoma are among the leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide. Currently, effective drug therapy is hindered due to anatomical and physiological characteristics of the eye, thus requiring ocular injections to ensure drug concentration to ensure therapeutic effect. These injections are administered monthly and associated with severe side effects, including retinal detachment, infections, cataracts, hemorrhage, increased intraocular pressure, and ultimately significant patient discomfort and drop out. To overcome this aspect the ODiN project aims to develop a novel drug delivery platform that combines surface-tailored lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) with trans-scleral iontophoresis (IOF), a mild electric current technique that enhances drug penetration.Thus the amount of drug penetrating the eye and reaching the posterior segment—where retinal disorders arise—is enhanced. ODiN proposes the use of statin (STAs) loaded LNPs, while typically used to reduce cholesterol, STAs are being repurposed for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in eye diseases. Additionally, their poor water solubility makes them ideal candidates for encapsulation into lipid-based systems. ODiN will involve the design, formulation, and characterization of these novel LNPs. Furthermore ex vivo permeation studies of the LNPs under IOF conditions will be carried out using porcine eyes obtained from local slaughterhouses to evaluate penetration enhancement, thus implementing the 3Rs principle (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement). The final expected outcome is a novel and sustainable drug delivery system that may reduce the need for invasive treatments, with strong potential for translation into clinical applications.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology glaucoma
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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43121 PARMA
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.