Project Info
Goldenlenses for dry eye therapy
Anuj Chauhan
chauhan@mines.edu
Project Goals and Description:
The goal of this project is to design contact lenses loaded with gold nanoparticles to treat dry eyes. Dry eye patients cannot secrete lipids into eyes because the composition of the lipids in their glands is such that the melting point is slight higher than usual. Heating the glands to melt the lipids increase secretion to treat dry eyes. The gold nanoparticles loaded into lenses can absorb visible light and convert to heat, which allows warming off the glands. This project has the potential for significant impact and also gives students opportunities to learn several exciting concepts in including heat and mass transfer.
More Information:
Grand Challenge: Engineer better medicines.
Students can search publications on dry eyes to understand the significance of the project. Students can search Gold contact lenses to find out prior publications in this area.
Primary Contacts:
Anuj Chauhan, chauhan@mines.edu
Student Preparation
Qualifications
Students should be highly motivated and have some prior research experience. Any background in heat and mass transfer, or interest in ophthalmic research would be very useful.
TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)
5
SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED
Hydrogel preparation
Nanoparticle preparation
Heat transfer measurements and modeling
Thermal imaging
UV vis spectrophotometer
SEM imaging
MENTORING PLAN
I hold frequent zoom meetings with students. The students will also be mentored by postdocs in my lab.
Preferred Student Status
Sophomore
Junior