China News Service, Shanghai, March 25th (Reporter Chen Jing) Chinese ophthalmologists are committed to improving the diagnosis and treatment technology of keratoconus. After twelve years of sharpening their swords, independent research and development and innovation, they finally achieved a breakthrough in nanomaterials: a new type of transcorneal epithelium riboflavin composite nanomaterials are available.
There is a new dawn in the treatment of patients with keratoconus.
Keratoconus, a corneal disease that causes irregular astigmatism and visual impairment, usually begins in adolescence, affects patients' quality of life, productivity, and career choices, and poses a risk of blindness.
10% to 20% of patients with severe keratoconus need to receive corneal transplantation, and the source of corneal donors is tight, and patients and society are under enormous pressure.
Corneal cross-linking (CXL) with riboflavin combined with ultraviolet light is an internationally recognized primary treatment method.
Conventional C treatment regimens require removal of the corneal epithelium to achieve effective penetration of riboflavin into the corneal tissue.
It is understood that the removal of the corneal epithelium means that the epithelial barrier is temporarily absent, which will not only cause postoperative pain and slow recovery of vision, but may also increase the risk of corneal infection; the traditional solution also has limitations in corneal thickness, which makes the middle and advanced cases with too thin cornea unable to be treated. Include surgery.
How to make a sufficient concentration of riboflavin enter the corneal stroma and better preserve the intact corneal epithelium is a key scientific problem to be solved urgently by clinicians and researchers, and it is also the focus of frontier research in this field internationally.
Zhou Xingtao, Dean of Eye and ENT Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, and Huang Jinhai, a young researcher and deputy director of the Department of Optometry, have started research on keratoconus cross-linking since 2010.
By integrating multidisciplinary superior resources, the team carried out medical-engineering cross-research on ophthalmic drug delivery systems, and jointly tackled the problem of transepithelial delivery of riboflavin.
Huang Jinhai vividly explained that the corneal epithelial layer on the surface of the human eye has the function of protecting the eye from the invasion of harmful substances, and also blocks the entry of riboflavin in the cross-linked potion.
The nanomaterial with the shape of a hibiscus flower developed by the researchers is like a magic "key" that can non-invasively and smoothly open the door of the corneal epithelium without destroying the important protective effect of this door.
Huang Jinhai said that the traditional cross-linking method of "breaking in" by removing the corneal epithelium is too rude and damages the epithelial protective layer. There is also damage by "breaking in" through penetration enhancers or some mechanical damage.
According to reports, the team chose the same fat-soluble MOF material as this "door" as the "key" of the riboflavin molecule to make a composite riboflavin nanomaterial.
The positively charged "key" is more favorable for matching with the negatively charged "door lock", thereby non-invasively opening the door lock and releasing hydrophilic riboflavin.
It is reported that the results obtained by the team of Zhou Xingtao and Huang Jinhai and the team of Gao Rongrong of the Optometry Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University were published in the latest issue of the international top academic journal Advanced Materials (IF30.8).
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