Peptide Hydrogel as an Intraocular Drug Delivery System for Inhibition of Postoperative Scarring Formation

A biocompatible hydrogel self-assembled from a peptide comprised of a peptide backbone containing Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence and a hydrophobic N-fluorenyl-9-methoxycarbonyl (FMOC) tail was designed and prepared to load antiproliferative model drug (5-fluorouracil, 5-Fu). After administering this 5-Fu-loaded peptide hydrogel in the filtering surgery of rabbit eyes, because of the sustained release of 5-Fu from the hydrogel to inhibit the scleral flap fibrosis efficiently, the pathology and immunohistochemistry demonstrate that the filtration fistula is patent without postoperative scarring formation, resulting in the significantly low intraocular pressure (IOP) of the rabbit eyes within postoperative 28 days. In a comparison with the conventional 5-Fu exposure, the strategy demonstrated here presents several advantages including providing convenience and preventing the toxicity of 5-Fu to the surrounding ocular tissues efficiently, suggesting a feasibility of this peptide hydrogel as a potential implanted drug delivery system for the inhibition of postoperative scarring formation.