
Ocular Drug Delivery group (ODD)
Research group
The Ocular Drug Delivery (ODD) group develops advanced drug delivery methods for targeted and prolonged drug delivery to both the anterior and posterior segments of the eye. Furthermore, we use computational tools for drug development and preclinical-to-clinical translation to build a quantitative understanding of ocular pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
We are currently pursuing studies in two main research areas: ocular drug delivery systems and ocular pharmacokinetics.
OCULAR DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS
We develop new drug delivery systems based on polymer conjugates, hydrogels, light-activated liposomes, and cleavable peptide linkers which allow us to control and fine-tune drug release. We employ targeting moieties such as peptides selected by phage display and aptamers selected by SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) to target the drug delivery systems to the desired tissue inside the eye. We investigate these technologies in physico-chemical studies, cell assays and preclinical in vivo experiments. Our aim is to develop drug delivery systems that are suitable for various kinds of compounds ranging from small drug molecules to biologicals and gene medicines.
OCULAR PHARMACOKINETICS
We study drug permeation, which may be driven by passive diffusion or active transport, across ocular barriers. We investigate ocular drug-metabolizing enzymes, whose unique profile may contribute to e.g. prodrug activation, elimination and toxicity of the ocular medications. We also elucidate the effect of binding to ocular tissues on drug disposition. Furthermore, we build computational models that can predict the most relevant pharmacokinetic properties in relation to a drug’s structure, and can estimate the drug release profiles from a delivery system. We have also used modeling approaches to explore animal-to-man translation of ocular pharmacokinetics. These methods include chemoinformatic models, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models and finite element (3D) models. We believe that computational models are becoming increasingly useful tools for ocular drug discovery and development.
OCULAR DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS
We develop new drug delivery systems based on polymer conjugates, hydrogels, light-activated liposomes, and cleavable peptide linkers which allow us to control and fine-tune drug release. We employ targeting moieties such as peptides selected by phage display and aptamers selected by SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) to target the drug delivery systems to the desired tissue inside the eye. We investigate these technologies in physico-chemical studies, cell assays and preclinical in vivo experiments. Our aim is to develop drug delivery systems that are suitable for various kinds of compounds ranging from small drug molecules to biologicals and gene medicines.
OCULAR PHARMACOKINETICS
We study drug permeation, which may be driven by passive diffusion or active transport, across ocular barriers. We investigate ocular drug-metabolizing enzymes, whose unique profile may contribute to e.g. prodrug activation, elimination and toxicity of the ocular medications. We also elucidate the effect of binding to ocular tissues on drug disposition. Furthermore, we build computational models that can predict the most relevant pharmacokinetic properties in relation to a drug’s structure, and can estimate the drug release profiles from a delivery system. We have also used modeling approaches to explore animal-to-man translation of ocular pharmacokinetics. These methods include chemoinformatic models, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models and finite element (3D) models. We believe that computational models are becoming increasingly useful tools for ocular drug discovery and development.
Group description
Keywords
3D modeling
aptamer
biologics
chemoinformatic model
controlled release
cornea
drug delivery system
drug permeation
drug targeting
drug transporters
drug-metabolizing enzymes
eye
gene delivery
in vitro
in vivo models
melanin binding
ocular barriers
ocular disease
ocular pharmacokinetics
PBPK model
peptides
retina
retinal pigment epithelium
RNAi
small drug molecules
Group members - UEF
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Arto Urtti Professor , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Arto Urtti Professor , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Paavo Honkakoski Professor , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Seppo Auriola Professor , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Astrid Subrizi Academy Research Fellow , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Elisa Toropainen Project Manager , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Eva Maria del Amo Páez Senior Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Kati-Sisko Vellonen Senior Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Marika Ruponen University Lecturer , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Mika Reinisalo Senior Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Tatu Lajunen University Researcher
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Veli-Pekka Ranta University Lecturer , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Stanislav Kalinin Postdoctoral Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Amir Sadeghi Boroujeni Early Stage Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Anam Hammid Early Stage Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Annika Valtari Early Stage Researcher
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Anusha Balla Early Stage Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Jooseppi Puranen Early Stage Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Sina Bahrpeyma Early Stage Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Sonja Korhonen Early Stage Researcher
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Janika Jäntti Early Stage Researcher
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Eetu Valkama Early Stage Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Jaana Leskinen Laboratory Technician , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Lea Pirskanen Senior Laboratory Technician , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy