Nanomaterials in the diagnosis and treatment of ophthalmic diseases

The complexity of the human eye structure poses challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular diseases, especially the low efficiency of ocular drug delivery. With the continuous advancements in nanomaterials, various ocular nano-drug delivery systems with extended drug delivery, long-term controlled release and targeted delivery have been developed to improve the flaws in traditional ophthalmology diagnosis and treatment. With many features, these novel nanomaterials are expected to provide controllability, precision, and individualization when treating eye disorders. In this review, the focus has been on various applications of nanomaterials in ophthalmic diseases from a clinical perspective, including abnormalities in eyelid, orbit, ocular surface, lens, vitreous body, uvea and fundus. We elaborate the advances of the emerging nanomaterials in ophthalmology in the past five years and summarize their prospects, providing new insights into the disease-specific development and clinical translation of ophthalmic nanomaterials.