RESEARCH ARTICLE
Controlled Release of Bevacizumab Through Nanospheres for Extended Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Fengfu Li*, 1, 2, Bernard Hurley 1, 2, Yun Liu 3, Brian Leonard 1, 2, May Griffith 1, 2, 4
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2012Volume: 6
First Page: 54
Last Page: 58
Publisher ID: TOOPHTJ-6-54
DOI: 10.2174/1874364101206010054
Article History:
Received Date: 6/6/2012Revision Received Date: 11/6/2012
Acceptance Date: 11/6/2012
Electronic publication date: 25/6/2012
Collection year: 2012

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Bevacizumab (Avastin®) has been used by ophthalmologists in many countries as an off-label drug for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Due to its short half-life necessitating frequent intravitreal injection, a method for sustained delivery is in need. We demonstrated that bevacizumab could be released in a sustained fashion over 90 days from nano- and microspheres fabricated from poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) and poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(D,L-lactic acid), respectively. The drug release rate could be adjusted by alteration of the drug/polymer ratio. The use of such nano- and microspheres as bevacizumab delivery vehicles may improve the treatment of wet AMD.