This issue focuses on a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive prodrug designed to tackle oxidative stress at its source โ a key driver of corneal damage and tear film instability in DED.
๐ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ
Dry eye disease remains difficult to treat effectively, as current therapies largely fail to address the underlying oxidative and apoptotic mechanisms responsible for disease progression.
โ๏ธ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐๐ด ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐
A superoxide anionโresponsive persulfide prodrug (Ac-SOPD) was developed to generate persulfides and trigger controlled hydrogen sulfide (HโS) release only under oxidative conditions. This approach improves antioxidant delivery while avoiding the burst release and volatility of conventional HโS donors.
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐
โ๏ธ Enhanced ROS scavenging and oxidative protection
โ๏ธ Improved corneal epithelial integrity and tear film stability in vivo
โ๏ธ Reduced apoptosis via modulation of redox-sensitive pathways, including Hippo signaling
โ๏ธ Superior therapeutic performance in multiple DED models
๐ก ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
By coupling stimuli-responsive chemistry with endogenous antioxidant reinforcement, this strategy offers a promising new direction for disease-modifying dry eye therapies.
The work was recently published in the ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ.
๐ Read the full study:ย https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168365926000015
CRS Ocular Delivery Focus Group (OcD FG) January 2026 Newsletter
