As a noninvasive eye disease detection and drug delivery device, contact lenses can improve eye bioavailability and enable continuous drug delivery. In order to monitor the release of drugs in real time, molecularly imprinted contact lenses (MICLs) based on photonic crystals (PCs) were prepared for the treatment of diabetes-related diseases. The specific adsorption of molecularly imprinted polymers on dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DSP) increased the drug loading and optimized the drug release behavior. At the same time, the drug release ensures the rapid color report during the loading and releasing of drugs due to the volume and refractive index change of the hydrogel matrix. The continuous and slow release of DSP by MICLs in artificial tears was successfully monitored through structural color changes, and the cytotoxicity test results showed that the MICL had good biocompatibility. Therefore, MICLs with a PC structure color have great biomedical potentiality in the future.
Keywords: contact lens; drug release; hydrogels; molecular imprinting; photonic crystal.