Therapeutic contact lenses fabricated by hyaluronic acid and silver incorporated bovine serum albumin porous films for the treatment of alkali-burned corneal wound

Hyaluronic acid (HA) was covalently linked to the surface of bovine serum albumin/silver (BSA/Ag) porous films to fabricate a possible contact lens. The BSA/Ag/HA films showed favorable properties as contact lenses, including acceptable transparency, high water content, good hemocompatibility, non-cytotoxicity and antibacterial properties. The therapeutic potential of the BSA/Ag/HA films was evaluated on an alkali burn-induced corneal injury model on mice. The corneal healing rate was enhanced, the corneal opacification and neovascularization were lessened, and the inflammation response was reduced. The chemical cross-linking of HA on the films prolonged the retention time of HA on the corneal surface, thus enhanced the drug efficacy and improved the patient compliance, proving the high potential of BSA/Ag/HA films as contact lenses.