Bioactive Intraocular Lens – A Strategy to Control Secondary Cataract

Abstract

Cataract is the 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. 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 our research, a bioactive molecule is immobilized onto the conventional acrylic hydrophilic polymer pHEMA (Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)) using oxygen plasma treatment followed by deposition. The RGD peptide sequence, being well-known for its ability to promote cellular attachment by binding to integrin receptors, is designed to stimulate the adhesion of LECs on the IOL. Our data show the peptide immobilized biomaterial not only exhibits similar optical property, but also reveals enhanced biological properties in cell adhesion and cell morphology maintenance. By means of surface functionalization of IOL to stimulate LECs adhesion, the secondary cataract could be controlled.