Effectiveness of collagen cross-linking induced by two-photon absorption properties of a femtosecond laser in ex vivo human corneal stroma

Le Chang; Lin Zhang; Zhenzhou Cheng; Nan Zhang; Congzheng Wang; Yan Wang; Weiwei Liu

doi:10.1364/BOE.468593

Effectiveness of collagen cross-linking induced by two-photon absorption properties of a femtosecond laser in ex vivo human corneal stroma

Biomed Opt Express. 2022 Sep 1;13(9):5067-5081. doi: 10.1364/BOE.468593.

Authors

Le Chang¹, Lin Zhang^{1

2}, Zhenzhou Cheng^{3

4}, Nan Zhang^{3

4}, Congzheng Wang⁵, Yan Wang^{1

2}, Weiwei Liu^{3

4

6}

Affiliations

¹ Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, No. 22 Meteorological Terrace Road, Heping District, Tianjin 300070, China.
² Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin Eye Institute, Nankai University Affiliated Eye Hospital, Nankai University, No. 4 Gansu Road, Heping District, Tianjin 300020, China.
³ Institute of Modern Optics, Nankai University, No. 94 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, China.
⁴ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Micro-scale Optical Information Science and Technology, No. 94 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, China.
⁵ Department of Mechanics, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, No. 92 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300072, China.
⁶ [email protected].

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of two-photon induced collagen cross-linking (CXL) using femtosecond lasers in human corneal stroma. An 800-nm femtosecond laser optical path for CXL was established. Corneal samples that received two-photon induced CXL and ultraviolet-A (UVA) CXL underwent uniaxial stretching experiments, proteolytic resistance assays and observation of collagen fiber structure changes. Two-photon induced CXL can achieve corneal stiffening effects comparable to UVA CXL and showed better advantages at low strains. The cornea after two-photon induced CXL exhibited high enzymatic resistance and tight collagen fiber arrangement. Two-photon induced CXL promises to be a new option for keratoconus.