# DSP nanoparticles for treating nitrogen mustard induced corneal injury

> **NIH NIH R21** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $223,495

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
We aim to evaluate a novel approach for effective treatment of nitrogen mustard (NM)-induced corneal injury in
rat and rabbit models. NM is a bi-functional analogue of sulphur mustard (SM). Ocular exposure of NM causes
a range of complications including corneal ulceration, corneal opacity, chronic inflammation, corneal
neovascularization, and even blindness. Therapeutic interventions to treat vesicants induced ocular injury has
not been identified yet, which highlights the need to identify effective treatment options for vesicants-induced
corneal injury. Dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DSP) eye drop is FDA approved drug for the treatment of
ocular inflammation associated with various agents. Studies have reported beneficial effects of dexamethasone
eye drops in vesicants-induced corneal injury in the rabbits. However, due to the rapid tear turnover and
clearance of instilled drops and poor ocular bioavailability, frequent administration is necessary which results in
poor patient compliance. To address these problems, we developed biodegradable nanoparticles of DSP with
poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) or poly(lactic acid) (PLA), that can be administered by subconjunctival (SCT)
injection after NM exposure and provide sustained release of DSP, improving patient’s compliance and
increasing therapeutic efficacy. We hypothesize that long-lasting PLA-DSP-NP (3 months in vitro drug release)
could be effective in preventing corneal ulceration, corneal NV, corneal opacity, suppressing inflammatory and
angiogenic biomarkers in both immediate (0 h post NM exposure) and delayed treatment (24 h post NM
exposure). In Aim 1, we plan to investigate the dose-dependent efficacy of PLA-DSP-NP dosed at both 0 h and
24 h post NM exposure in the corneal injury rat model. In Aim 2, we will evaluate the efficacy of PLA-DSP-NP at
a selected dose after immediate (0 h post NM exposure) and delayed treatment (24 h post NM exposure) in a
more translational NM-induced corneal injury rabbit model.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10851455
- **Project number:** 1R21EY035974-01
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** QINGGUO XU
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $223,495
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10851455

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10851455, DSP nanoparticles for treating nitrogen mustard induced corneal injury (1R21EY035974-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10851455. Licensed CC0.

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