Nanofiber-Reinforced Hydrogels for Ocular Repair

The frequency of ocular injuries sustained on the battlefield and in victims of terrorist bombings has increased significantly in recent years. Restoring vision to soldiers suffering ocular trauma injuries is critical to restore their overall quality of life and allow them to return to the front lines . The current standard of care for ocular surface injuries involves the application of human amniotic membrane to the injured site. While extremely effective at stimulating repair, the required processing is expensive and makes application of the membranes difficult in military hospitals and other emergency situations. In order to address the challenges associated with ocular trauma treatment, Luna Innovations proposes to expand upon its electrospinning technologies program to produce a unique biomimetic ocular biomaterial that consists of aligned nanofibers that support a scar-reducing, growth-stimulating hydrogel that will promote native ocular surface regeneration. This material will be compatible with both traditional and sutureless adhesion techniques and will have the potential to release therapeutics into the injured defect site in future product iterations.