TISSUE ENGINEERING - PART A, vol.28, no.S1, pp.456, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
Ranibizumab is a recombinant VEGF‐A antibody used in clinics for the treatment of wet form of age‐related macular degeneration. It is intraviterally administered to ocular compartments and it needs frequent injections. However, intraviteral administration could cause side complications as well as patient discomfort. These necessitate alternative treatment strategies based on relatively noninvasive ranibizumab delivery that is more effective and sustainable in the eye vitreous than the current clinical regimen. Herein, we developed self‐assembled peptide microgels from peptide amphiphile molecules to sustainably release ranibizumab from these microgels at high local dose. Peptide amphiphile molecules, which come together by themselves to form supramolecular filaments, can form gels only in the presence of electrolyte without the need for any agent and provide ease of use compared to polymeric materials. Another great advantage of such systems is that they can be found in free flowing solution as they have low molecular weight and can be easily injected into the targeted area and gel formation can be achieved. Therefore, toxic crosslinkers are not required for the gelation of peptide materials. At the same time, since the peptide materials are completely biodegradable, they do not need to be removed from the injected target when the drug they contain is completely consumed. In this study release profile of ranibizumab at different peptide concentrations was used to evaluate the release performance from the microgels for improved and modulated treatment of wet form of age‐related macular degeneration.