IIT-Hyderabad research team develops hydrogel to regenerate cornea

HYDERABAD: Scarring due to corneal injury can now be prevented thanks to a novel technology developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H). Currently, no treatment is available other than partial donor corneal graft or transplantation for corneal scarring.
A corneal scar is either opacity or irregularity in the cornea that could limit the cornea’s ability to accurately focus light.Researchers from the biomedical department at IIT-H collaborated with LV Prasad Eye Institute and Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology to come up with a technique, which is less invasive and can replace complex surgical procedures in ophthalmology.

Using discarded cornea from slaughterhouses and disqualified cornea for transplantation from eye banks, the team of researchers have developed a tissue-derived hydrogel that when injected can regenerate the cornea without scarring.
“We have tested the corneal hydrogel for two complications associated with cornea — corneal scarring and keratoconus — and, in both cases, we found that this can be successfully used as a new treatment strategy to avoid complicated surgeries,” Shibu Chameettachal, PhD scholar, department of biomedical engineering, IIT-H, said, adding that the institute was also planning for human pilot studies for some of its applications soon.
Experts believe that this technology would have a huge impact in countries where there was a scarcity of eye bank and donor tissue.
“The southern part of India is much more developed than north for eye care. Still, states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have the least accessibility to donor cornea and they have to travel to south India for any corneal perforation, scars or related disease. This technology will even be used to prevent blindness in rural north India, where there is limited availability of donor cadaveric transplantation grade cornea,” said Dr Vivek Singh, senior scientist, LVPEI and one of the principal investigators.
Finally, the aim of the research is to develop a complete human cornea to replace the human cadaveric donor cornea with 3D bioprinting technology. The researchers have filed both Indian and US patent for the preparation of the hydrogel.