# Identification of lead compounds to topically treat sulfur mustard injury to reduce ocular damage and improve vision.

> **NIH NIH U01** · SYNEDGEN, INC. · 2020 · $74,526

## Abstract

Project Summary
The ocular surface is uniquely susceptible to Sulfur Mustard (SM) exposure, resulting in corneal
lesions, edema, ulcerations, neovascularization and vision loss. Synedgen has developed a
class of non-toxic polyglucosamine derivatives with the ability to suppress inflammation, reduce
infection, and improve healing at mucosal surfaces. The molecules are hypothesized to act
directly at the corneal surface after SM exposure to reduce the activation of downstream
inflammation after primary injury, consequently reducing secondary damage, edema,
neovascularization and vision loss.
Synedgen's screening program uses in vitro methods to identify lead compounds to advance
into animal models. Ocular residency times, distribution and tolerability in rabbits will be
assessed prior to a proof-of-concept study with SM ocular exposure that uses dose and
exposure time to reflect a biphasic injury that results in neovascularization and fibrosis.
Monolayers of a variety of ocular epithelial cells were determined to be suitable for the high
throughput screens and the first round of molecules tested met all milestones. While epithelial
cells are useful for determining activity of the molecules in targeted assays, the variance in
cellular response between the different cells to both stimulus and Synedgen molecules suggests
that these cells independently might not predict the response of the corneal surface. To better
select the best candidate molecule to advance into animal studies, this supplement proposes to
use a 3D tissue model that more closely reflects the morphology and responses that expected
from the human cornea.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10221889
- **Project number:** 3U01EY030406-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** SYNEDGEN, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Shenda Baker
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $74,526
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10221889

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10221889, Identification of lead compounds to topically treat sulfur mustard injury to reduce ocular damage and improve vision. (3U01EY030406-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10221889. Licensed CC0.

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