Bevacizumab (Avastin) conjugated microbubbles for anti-VEGF treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration

摘要

Bevacizumab (Avastin) has been used as one of the anti-VEGF therapies to manage neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The drug delivery system for bevacizumab needs to be improved in order to decrease the frequency of injection and reduce the adverse effects. In our study, bevacizumab was conjugated with poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microbubbles by activating carboxyl functional groups. The averaged size of microbubbles was estimated 1.055±0.258um, allowing for ultrasound guided drug delivery. The binding efficiency between bevacizumab and microbubbles was evaluated in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay plate. The test results demonstrated the potential of using PLGA microbubbles to deliver bevacizumab with imaging guidance.