Nucleic acid drug delivery in ophthalmology: Emerging trends and future perspectives.

Nucleic acid therapeutics offer the broadest range of target selection and manipulation, making them an ideal choice for ocular targeted therapy. However, the clinical translation of the vast majority of nucleic acid therapeutics relies on delivery technologies. The dense and complex biological barriers within the eye result in low drug penetration efficiency, severely limiting the clinical application of nucleic acid therapeutics. This review first analyses the biological barriers of the anterior and posterior segments of the eye, providing a concise overview of nucleic acid therapeutics and their delivery systems. Based on this, this paper discusses the preclinical research and clinical progress related to the eye delivery and disease treatment of nucleic acid therapy. These comprehensive analyses demonstrate that the application of nucleic acid therapy in eye diseases is contingent upon the advancement of delivery technology. This encompasses not only innovations in delivery systems for ocular penetration but also enhancements in nucleic acid drug loading capacities and the selection of administration routes. The former represents the current research focus for anterior segment diseases, whilst the latter constitutes the key to clinical translation for posterior segment conditions.