3D‐Printed Inherently Antibacterial Contact Lens‐Like Patches Carrying Antimicrobial Peptide Payload for Treating Bacterial Keratitis

Delivery of therapeutic agents through contact lenses-like patches is a promising strategy to achieve significant bioavailability with negligible eye drainage. The present study investigates the preparation and three-dimensional (3D) printing of mucoadhesive Gelatin Methacryloyl (GelMA)/ Chitosan Methacryloyl (ChiMA) hydrogels to fabricate them as contact lens-like patches (CLP) loaded with antimicrobial peptide, S100A12 (AMP) for treating bacterial keratitis (BK). Extrusion technology was used to print the patches layer by layer to form a hemispherical scaffold suitable for eyewear, and 3D printed CLP were crosslinked using Irgacure 2959 under UV light. The results from the in vivo experiment conducted on P. aeruginosa-infected BK rabbit model after the treatment with AMP-loaded CLP have shown a significant decrease in bacterial load when plated for CFU. The newly developed delivery system containing AMP has great potential to overcome the treatment challenges of multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacteria and eliminate the frequent dosing associated with eye drops. The presence of chitosan in the formulation provided a synergetic effect on the AMP in disrupting bacterial biofilms. The ease of using 3D printing would open new avenues for optimizing the dosage depending on the severity of the BK in the patients, which can be used as personalized medicine. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.