Artist’s concept of the adhesive being applied to an eyeball

Engineers at the University of California and Harvard Medical School have developed an adhesive gel that encourages the cornea to heal itself following an injury, reducing the need for corneal surgery.

“The biggest advantage is it’s very similar to the corneal tissue itself. It can adhere to the cornea to seal defects and becomes completely integrated with the surrounding tissue,” said principal investigator Assistant Professor Nasim Annabi. Other cornea adhesives merely act as a glue, he said, which don’t stick well on a wet surface such as the eye.

The new gel material, Gelcore, is clear and viscous enough to be applied with a dropper or syringe, but following a short exposure to visible blue light, hardens to a density similar to the cornea while remaining transparent, reported the research team. The gel could potentially be a suture-less remedy for fast sealing of corneal wounds and aid in long-term healing. It could also provide a new way to deliver different therapeutic agents to treat ocular diseases, they said, adding they plan to start human trials of the gel next year.