부산대학교 도서관

Macular degeneration is a disease in which the macula, the central part of the retina, is damaged and is one of the three major eye diseases along with glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Most of the optic cells and optic nerves are located here, and it is the most important place for vision as it is where images of objects are formed. The main symptom of macular degeneration is the inability to clearly distinguish the shape of objects or the ability to distinguish colors and light and dark. It is also a serious eye disease that causes black spots in the center of the field of vision. However, because it is difficult to distinguish from the form of vision loss caused by presbyopia, early diagnosis is often missed. The most commonly used treatment for macular degeneration is antibody injection therapy. This treatment requires regular injections once every 1 to 2 months. During antibody injection treatment, the fear of having to inject directly into the eye and the cost of repeated procedures over a long period of time are a great burden to patients. To overcome these problems, sustained-release preparations are being developed in special dosage forms using drug delivery systems. The drug release rate and release time can be adjusted, dramatically reducing the number of drug administrations. However, micro-implants (∅0.46x6.0mm), which are sustained-release preparations, are highly brittle because biodegradable resin (PLGA) and therapeutic agent are mixed in a 4:6 ratio. Therefore, there is a high risk of it being damaged during handling. When physical force is applied to the micro-implant to cut it to a certain size, the cutting surface is rough and the length is not accurate. Therefore, in this study, laser cutting equipment was used to cut the micro-implant. In addition, the cutting surface properties according to the laser type were analyzed, and in particular, the content of flexible substances (Dexamethasone Acid, Dexamethasone Ketone, Dexamethasone Aldehyde) according to heat exposure was analyzed.