Combining Riboflavin/UV-A Light and Rose Bengal/Green Light Corneal Cross-Linking Increases the Resistance of Corneal Enzymatic Digestion.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if concurrent riboflavin/UV-A light (RF/UV-A) and rose Bengal/green light (RB/green) epi-off PACK-CXL enhances corneal resistance to enzymatic digestion compared to separate chromophore/light treatments. Ex vivo porcine corneas were allocated as follows. Group A corneas were soaked with riboflavin (RF) and were either not irradiated (A1, controls) or were irradiated with 10 (A2) or 15 J/cm² (A3) UV-A light at 365nm, respectively. Group B corneas were soaked with RB and either not irradiated (B1, controls) or were illuminated with 10 (B2) or 15 J/cm² (B3) green light at 525nm, respectively. Corneas in group C were soaked with both RF and RB and were either not irradiated (C1, controls) or were subjected to the same session consecutive 10 J/cm2 (C2) or 15 J/cm2 (C3) UV-A and green light exposure. Following treatment, all corneas were exposed to 0.3% collagenase A to assess digestion time until corneal button dissolution. A1 to A3 digestion times were 21.38, 30.5, and 32.25hours, respectively, with A2 and A3 showing increased resistance to A1. B1-3 had digestion times of 31.2, 33.81, and 34.38hours, with B3 resisting more than B1. C1 to C3 times were 33.47, 39.81, and 51.94hours; C3 exhibited superior resistance to C1 and C2 (both P < 0.05). Same-session combined RF/UV-A and RB/green PACK-cross-linking significantly increases corneal enzymatic digestion resistance over standalone treatments. Combining RF-based and RB-based PACK-CXL considerably increases corneal collagenase digestion resistance, potentially minimizing ulcer size in clinical contexts.