Inorganic nanomaterials as promising therapeutic agents for ocular neovascularization: Progress and perspectives

Ocular pathological neovascularization is a significant pathological alteration associated with various ocular diseases, which could lead to substantial vision loss. Currently, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agent is one of the primary therapeutic strategies of anti-angiogenesis. However, this approach is often accompanied by severe complications and side effects, underscoring the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. In recent years, due to the excellent physical and chemical properties of inorganic nanomaterials, they could be functionally modified to achieve anti-angiogenesis function, or integrated with other nanmaterials (such as exosomes, liposomes), so as to help achieve intraocular targeted therapy and enhance the therapeutic effect of ocular neovascularization, and have been widely developed and explored in anti-angiogenesis therapy. This review summarizes the latest advancements in the application of inorganic nanomaterials for the treatment of ocular neovascularization. The pathological features of ocular neovascularization, along with current treatment strategies and their limitations, are discussed. The characteristics and advantages of inorganic nanomaterials, including both metal and non-metal types, are summarized. In addition, the specific applications of these materials for the ocular neovascularization treatment are comprehensively reviewed. Based on the current advances, this review also looks forward to provide valuable insights into the development of inorganic nanomaterials for anti-angiogenesis.