Biocompatibility of an adhesive biopolymer for the treatment of retinal detachment.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and toxicity of a novel synthetic adhesive biopolymer that can be used as a retinal patch to treat retinal detachment.

Methods: The biopolymer was mixed and reconstituted into a liquid phase immediately before being injected through the sclera in one eye of adult wild type albino mice (Balb/C) and the fellow eye was used as control. Three groups of mice were injected in this study: polymer injected either in the subretinal (n=14) or intravitreal (n=8) space, and control balanced salt solution (BSS) injected in the subretinal space (n=9). In all three groups, color fundus photography, electroretinogram (ERG), and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) were performed at days 7 and 14 post-injection. Histological analysis was performed at days 1, 7 and 21 following injection.

Results: The presence of the biopolymer in the subretinal space was confirmed by SD-OCT and histological examination at one week post-injection. The retina spontaneously reattached and the biopolymer was undetectable at later time points. There were no significant differences in ERG response amplitude and implicit times between either the polymer injected or BSS injected eyes and their fellow uninjected eyes at one and two weeks post-injection. Minimal inflammatory response and retinal outer layer anatomical change were observed only at the injection entry site in both groups, the polymer and control groups. Overall integrity of the outer, inner retina and RPE layers was unaffected by the polymer injections.

Conclusions: Functional and histological evaluation suggests that the adhesive is non-inflammatory and non-toxic to the eye. The synthetic biopolymer adhesive represents a safe and effective therapeutic agent for treatment of retinal tears and detachment.

Keywords: 697 retinal detachment • 762 vitreoretinal surgery • 692 retinal adhesion