Development of graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots-based oxygen self-sufficient platforms for enhanced corneal crosslinking

Yang, Mei, Chen, Tingting, Chen, Xin, Pan, Hongxian, Zhao, Guoli, Chen, Zhongxing, Zhao, Nan, Ye, Qianfang, Chen, Ming, Zhang, Shenrong, Gao, Rongrong, Meek, Keith M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9948-7538, Hayes, Sally ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8550-0108, Ma, Xiaowei, Li, Xin, Wu, Yue, Zhang, Yiming, Kong, Na, Tao, Wei, Zhou, Xingtao and Huang, Jinhai 2024. Development of graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots-based oxygen self-sufficient platforms for enhanced corneal crosslinking. Nature Communications 15 , 5508. 10.1038/s41467-024-49645-8

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Abstract

Keratoconus, a disorder characterized by corneal thinning and weakening, results in vision loss. Corneal crosslinking (CXL) can halt the progression of keratoconus. The development of accelerated corneal crosslinking (A-CXL) protocols to shorten the treatment time has been hampered by the rapid depletion of stromal oxygen when higher UVA intensities are used, resulting in a reduced cross-linking effect. It is therefore imperative to develop better methods to increase the oxygen concentration within the corneal stroma during the A-CXL process. Photocatalytic oxygen-generating nanomaterials are promising candidates to solve the hypoxia problem during A-CXL. Biocompatible graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) quantum dots (QDs)-based oxygen self-sufficient platforms including g-C3N4 QDs and riboflavin/g-C3N4 QDs composites (RF@g-C3N4 QDs) have been developed in this study. Both display excellent photocatalytic oxygen generation ability, high reactive oxygen species (ROS) yield, and excellent biosafety. More importantly, the A-CXL effect of the g-C3N4 QDs or RF@g-C3N4 QDs composite on male New Zealand white rabbits is better than that of the riboflavin 5’-phosphate sodium (RF) A-CXL protocol under the same conditions, indicating excellent strengthening of the cornea after A-CXL treatments. These lead us to suggest the potential application of g-C3N4 QDs in A-CXL for corneal ectasias and other corneal diseases.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Optometry and Vision Sciences
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Type: open-access
Publisher:	Nature Research
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 July 2024
Date of Acceptance:	13 June 2024
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2024 14:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/170224

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