A unique and biocompatible approach for corneal collagen crosslinking in vivo

Corneal crosslinking (CXL) is a widely applied technique to halt the progression of ectatic diseases by increasing the thickness and mechanical stiffness of the cornea. This study investigated the biocompatibility and efficiency of a novel CXL procedure using ruthenium and blue light in rat corneas and evaluated factors important for clinical application. To perform the CXL procedure, the corneal epithelium of rats was removed under anesthesia, followed by the application of a solution containing ruthenium and sodium persulfate (SPS). The corneas were then exposed to blue light at 430 nm at 3 mW/cm2 for 5 minutes. Rat corneas were examined and evaluated for corneal opacity, corneal and limbal neovascularization, and corneal epithelial regeneration at days 0, 1, 3, 6, 8, and 14. On day 28, the corneas were isolated for subsequent tissue follow-up and analysis. CXL with ruthenium and blue light showed rapid epithelial healing, with 100% regeneration of the corneal epithelium and no corneal opacity by day 6. The ruthenium group also exhibited significantly reduced corneal (p View larger version (25K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@c05147org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@18244borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@f6e30eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b4ec3a_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG