Dendrimer Nanogels With Built-in Free Radical Scavenging Enable Efficient Topical Delivery of a Hydrophilic Antioxidant to Restore Lens Redox Balance for Cataract Treatment

Author

• Lin Qi
• Huari Kou
• Anna Chernatynskaya
• Da Huang
• Vimalin Jeyalatha Mani
• Humeyra Karacal
• Nuran Ercal, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
• Hu Yang, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

Cataract is a leading cause of vision impairment worldwide and are primarily caused by oxidative stress that damages and aggregates lens proteins, leading to lens opacification. However, the eye's anatomical barriers limit the penetration and bioavailability of antioxidant therapies. To address this challenge, a dendrimer-based nanogel with a built-in reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging capability developed by us was employed to deliver the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to the lens. NAC was loaded into a generation-5 PEGylated poly(amidoamine) dendrimer (G5-PEG-TK, termed the GPT) nanogel. The resulting NAC-GPT was characterized for its ROS-scavenging activity, bioavailability, and corneal permeability. The efficacy of NAC-GPT was evaluated ex vivo and in vivo using a sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃)-induced cataract model. Both ex vivo and in vivo results demonstrated that NAC-GPT significantly increased the level of NAC accumulation in the lens. Furthermore, the in vivo study shows that NAC-GPT significantly increased the ratio of reduced glutathione (GSH) to oxidized glutathione (GSSG), an indicator of redox balance restoration. In particular, the GSH/GSSG ratio in NAC-GPT–treated lenses was nearly 2-fold higher than that of the untreated cataract control. These findings indicate that the GPT nanogel platform can effectively deliver antioxidants to the eye and is a promising noninvasive antioxidant delivery strategy with the ability to restore redox balance in cataract.

Recommended Citation

L. Qi et al., "Dendrimer Nanogels With Built-in Free Radical Scavenging Enable Efficient Topical Delivery of a Hydrophilic Antioxidant to Restore Lens Redox Balance for Cataract Treatment," ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, vol. 18, no. 12, pp. 17482 - 17494, American Chemical Society, Apr 2026.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c24072

Department(s)

Chemistry

Second Department

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Publication Status

Open Access

Comments

National Institutes of Health, Grant R01EY035088

Keywords and Phrases

cataract; dendrimer-based nanogels; N-acetylcysteine; ocular drug delivery; ROS scavenging

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1944-8252; 1944-8244

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 American Chemical Society, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Apr 2026

PubMed ID

41854407