A team of scientists has successfully restored the vision of mice with the help of retinal implants made of nanoparticles of gold. Their concept represents a treatment path for patients with degenerative eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa or AMD.
A team of scientists from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, has successfully restored vision in mice using subretinal implants made from nanoparticles of gold. Chinese researchers have developed titanium dioxide nanowires coated with gold nanoparticles that function as the eye’s natural photoreceptors. Their results are published in Nature Communications.
The role of photoreceptors
The retina is a photosensitive tissue that transforms light information into neural activities. The light that enters an eye passes through the transparent retina and is mostly captured by photoreceptors which contain visual pigments.
Degenerative retinal pathologies such as retinitis pigmentosa and AMD cause irreversible damage or even loss of photoreceptors, which leads to severe impairment of vision or even blindness.
The contribution of nanotechnology
Golden nanowires are no longer than 100 nanometers. Surgically implanted in place of the rod and cone photoreceptors located at the back of the retina, they restore the vision of blind mice.
In practice, when light reaches these artificial nanoparticles, it generates a slight tension, which causes a reaction within the neurons of the visual system.
Photo Nature communications
The researchers verified that this stimulation did indeed induce an activity of the retinal ganglion cells (that is to say the specific neurons that receive visual information from the photoreceptors) and found that the latter react when exposed to green light, blue and ultraviolet.
The researchers managed to achieve the same level of pupil light reflex as in healthy mice, indicating recovery of light sensitivity, although mouse models could not yet see in color. They specify in passing that the treatment is well tolerated (good biocompatibility and photochemical stability).
To see further
They are now working to find a way to apply this new technology to the human eye with the goal of being able to offer treatment to those with macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa or forms of blindness associated with loss. of photoreceptor cells.
In another 2016 study, researchers successfully restored the vision of blind rats using the CRISPR technique, cutting DNA strands and replacing them with “new” genetic material.
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