Award
National Eye Institute 1R21EY036176-01A1
Amplified femtosecond laser permeabilization and poration for nonviral corneal gene delivery
Recipient
University of California-Irvine, Department of Ophthalmology
Award Amount
$431,750.00
Ceiling
$431,750.00
Awarded
April 28, 2025
Identifier
1R21EY036176-01A1
Development of laser micromachining and femtosecond laser pulses to enable nonviral, safe, and efficient gene delivery to the cornea, replacing viral vectors with plasmid DNA.
Description
The project aims to develop a novel, laser-based, corneal epithelial micromachining approach to create microchannels through the epithelium, enhancing transepithelial diffusion of gene therapy agents without long-term damage. It also explores using subthreshold femtosecond laser pulses to open membrane pores in stromal keratocytes, potentially replacing viral vectors with plasmid delivery for safer gene therapy with no size limitations.