Abstract :
[en] A cataract is pathology opacity of the lens, causing impairment of vision or even blindness. Today, a surgery is still the only available treatment. The intraocular lens (IOL) is a polymer implant designed to replace the natural lens in the cataract surgery. The materials for IOL require excellent optical properties for light transmission, mechanical properties for folding injection during surgery, and biological properties for preventing body rejection. The biocompatibility - or more specified, bio-inert - seems to be the prerequisite in selecting the materials. [1]
However, the bioinert materials could not satisfy the unmet need in the secondary cataract control. Posterior capsular opacification (PCO, or Secondary Cataract), characterized by a thick and cloudy layer of lens epithelial cells (LECs), is the most common postoperative complication. In 1997, a “Sandwich Theory” model was proposed to elucidate the developmental process of PCO. [2] In this model, the residual LECs between the lens capsular bag and the IOL undergo proliferation, migration, as well as transdifferentiation and finally induce PCO if the affinity to the IOL material is low.
In our research, a bioactive molecule is introduced to the conventional acrylic hydrophilic polymer pHEMA(Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)) by covalent conjugation. The RGD peptide sequence, being well-known for its tissue integration ability, is designed to stimulate the biointegration between the LECs and the IOL. [3]. Our data have shown the peptide grafted biomaterial not only exhibits similar optical and mechanical properties, but also reveals enhanced biological properties in cell adhesion and cell morphology maintenance. By means of surface functionalization of IOL to stabilize and restore LECs, the secondary cataract could be controlled in a regenerative medicine way.
References
[1] Dimitriya Bozukova (2010) Materials Science and Engineering R, 69: 63-83.
[2] Reijo Linnola (1997) J Cataract Refract Surg., 10: 1539–42.
[3] Ruoslahti E (1986) Cell, 44(4): 517-8.
