Mario Blanco-Blanco

EDUCATION

Optics and Optometry Bachelor Degree, University of Granada, Granada, Spain, 2018
Clinical Optometry and Advanced Optics Master Degree, University of Granada, Granada, Spain, 2020

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Optometry, Mechanics of Materials, Biomaterials, Ophthalmology

Scopus Publications

Identification of a translatable animal model for dry eye disease using comparative analysis of tear proteins across species
Mayelín Pérez-Perdomo, Ana González-López, Laura Ortega-Llamas, David Alba-Molina, Mario Blanco-Blanco, María del Mar Granados, Adrián Guerrero-Moreno, Stephen Carl Pflugfelder, Christoph Ullmer, Sascha Fauser, Yolanda Jiménez-Gómez, Miguel González-Andrades
Ocular Surface, 2025
PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the similarity of tear proteins between experimental animals and humans to identify the most translational animal model for dry eye disease (DED). METHODS: Eleven species were selected for a structural and physicochemical comparison of healthy human tear fluid proteins involved in DED. Amino acid sequences were compared using BLAST. Protein primary structure, isoelectric point (pI) and grand average of hydropathicity (GRAVY) were determined using ExPASy and compared with humans. RESULTS: Among non-primate mammals, the cat (69.7 %) and pig (68.7 %) showed the highest protein sequence similarity to humans. The ruminants and cat showed amino acid content changes for the highest number of proteins (≥3/15). The pig, rabbit, dog and rodents had the closest global pI values to humans, while the cat showed the highest protein number (9/15) with pI values far from humans. GRAVY values for the pig and dog were the closest to humans. Tear-soluble factor study revealed that the pig was the only species with high similarity for all proteins (>60 %). Amino acid content was similar for most species compared to humans, except mouse for IL-6 and rodents and pig for IL-8. The pI and GRAVY values varied across species, though the pig and sheep were the only ones with similar pI to humans for four out of five factors. CONCLUSION: The pig exhibited the highest similarity to humans in tear protein analysis among non-primate mammals, suggesting that the porcine model may be the most translational for DED research.
Bipyramidal gold nanoparticles-assisted plasmonic photothermal therapy for ocular applications
David Alba-Molina, Manuel Cano, Mario Blanco-Blanco, Laura Ortega-Llamas, Yolanda Jiménez-Gómez, Ana Gonzalez-Lopez, Mayelin Perez-Perdomo, Luis Camacho, Juan J. Giner-Casares, Miguel Gonzalez-Andrades
Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2025
The potential use of plasmonic photothermal therapy mediated by bipyramidal gold nanoparticles in ophthalmology has been described for the first time.
Treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration within 48 h from diagnosis improves long-term functional outcome
Raúl Martínez-Castillo, Carmen González-Gallardo, José I. Muñoz-Ávila, Pilar Font, Marta Villalba-González, Indira Stoikow, Ignacio Fernández-Choquet de Isla, Francisco Pugliese, Roberto Anaya-Alaminos, José L. García-Serrano, Francisco Hermoso-Fernández, Fabio Contieri, José E. Muñoz-de-Escalona-Rojas, Lorena Pérez-Fajardo, Mario Blanco-Blanco, Yolanda Jiménez-Gómez, Miguel González-Andrades
Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 2023
PURPOSE: To evaluate long-term visual and anatomical outcomes in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents depending on the time delay from confirmed diagnosis to treatment initiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-three nAMD patients (73 eyes) treated with anti-VEGF agents for 12 months using the pro re nata regimen were included in this retrospective longitudinal study. Patients were split into 3 groups according to the time from diagnosis to first anti-VEGF injection: < 48 h (group 1); 48 h-7 days (group 2); > 7 days (group 3). Decimal best-corrected visual acuity (VA) and macular thickness (MT) were recorded at baseline and 1-2-, 3-4-, 6- and 12-month later. Furthermore, age, gender as well as the applied treatment and number of injections after 12 months of treatment were also registered and compared. RESULTS: Long-term effect of the treatment demonstrated enhanced VA in group 1 patients compared with the rest of groups after 1-2-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up (P < 0.05). Positive effects of early treatment were additionally corroborated by the augmented percentage of patients with normal VA in the group 1 respect to the rest of groups over studied time points (P < 0.05). Moreover, the VA gain in nAMD at group 1 was obtained with a mean of 3.7 intravitreal injections over 1-year follow-up period. Regarding MT, non-significant difference was observed among groups. CONCLUSIONS: An early initial treatment with VEGF inhibitors is critical to achieve the best functional benefits of this therapy in new-onset nAMD patients.
Novel Treatments for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Review of Clinical Advances in Sustained Drug Delivery Systems
Yolanda Jiménez-Gómez, David Alba-Molina, Mario Blanco-Blanco, Lorena Pérez-Fajardo, Felisa Reyes-Ortega, Laura Ortega-Llamas, Marta Villalba-González, Ignacio Fernández-Choquet de Isla, Francisco Pugliese, Indira Stoikow, Miguel González-Andrades
Pharmaceutics, 2022
In recent years, the number of patients with ocular diseases is increasing as a consequence of population aging. Among them, one of the most common is the age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that leads to vision loss if it is not treated. AMD is a multifactorial disorder with two advanced forms, dry and neovascular AMD. Currently, although there is no approved therapy that significantly impacts dry AMD progression, several pharmacologic therapies exist for neovascular AMD. Notwithstanding, evidence suggests a suboptimal result in a high number of patients receiving these therapeutic options. Consequently, finding effective strategies is not only a still unmet medical need in dry AMD but also in neovascular AMD. This underlines the need for new drug delivery technologies that can improve the pharmacological action and drug concentration at the target sites. In this regard, sustained drug delivery systems are presented as the most promising therapeutic options in AMD patients. This review summarized the pathogenesis and the current treatment options for AMD, focusing on the emerging ocular sustained drug delivery approaches undergoing clinical trials.

Publications

Martínez-Castillo, R.; González-Gallardo, C.; Muñoz-Ávila, J.I.; Font, P.; Villalba-González, M.; Stoikow, I.; Fernández-Choquet de Isla, I.; Pugliese, F.; Anaya-Alaminos, R.; García-Serrano, J.L.; Hermoso-Fernández, F.; Contieri, F.; Muñoz-de-Escalona-Rojas, J.E.; Pérez-Fajardo, L.; Blanco-Blanco, M.; Jiménez-Gómez, Y.; González-Andrades, M. Treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration within 48 h from diagnosis improves long-term functional outcome. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 2023, 160.

Jiménez-Gómez, Y.; Alba-Molina, D.; Blanco-Blanco, M.; Pérez-Fajardo, L.; Reyes-Ortega, F.; Ortega-Llamas, L.; Villalba-González, M.; Fernández-Choquet de Isla, I.; Pugliese, F.; Stoikow, I.; González-Andrades, M. Novel Treatments for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Review of Clinical Advances in Sustained Drug Delivery Systems. Pharmaceutics 2022, 14, 1473.