Photo-crosslinked hydrogel as injectable intraocular lens for cataract surgery implantation

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Cataract is the leading cause of the blindness worldwide. Natural lens removal followed with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation is the main clinical treatment for cataract. However, the shape and the optical power of current IOLs were fixed, which were not favorable for patients, especially for children with congenital cataracts. An injectable IOL is an immerging replacement for a regular IOL due to the accommodation of external packing shapes. In this study, we developed a rapid, in situ gelation of an injectable photo-crosslinked hydrogel as an injectable IOL material. In this investigation, injectable hydrogel (G/D hydrogel) was fabricated from Gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) and N- (3, 4-dihydroxyphenylidene ethyl) methacrylamide (DMA) via photo-crosslinking for injectable IOL applications. Different preparation parameters such as the concentration, proportion, light intensity, and curing time were optimized based on the gelation time, swelling ratio, and mechanical properties of the produced G/D hydrogels. The results of in vitro cellular experiments showed that the G/D hydrogel had good and stable clearance of lens epithelial cells. The hydrogel was implanted into the eyes of the young rabbits for 1 month, and the results also showed that injectable G/D hydrogel can obtain good intraocular implants and have inhibitory effects on posterior capsular opacification. Thus such photo-crosslinked G/D hydrogel can serve as an injectable IOL application in cataract surgery.