Biomaterials in Relative Devices for Traumatic Cataract: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Ocular trauma deprives one of the vision for high-quality life. Management of a traumatic cataract requires extensive surgical experience with a range of biomaterials and biomedical devices including intraocular lenses (IOLs), capsular tension rings (CTRs), prosthetic iris (PSI) implants, bandage contact lenses (BCLs), artificial corneas (ACs), and surgical sutures. Numerous demands, involving biocompatibility, cell toxicity, processability, mechanical strength, toughness/flexibility, transparency/opacity, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, and stability/biodegradability, are widely considered for fabricating these biomaterials and devices. Furthermore, a multifunction including drug-release and photothermal therapy is also endearing to those biomaterials in IOLs, CTRs, BCLs, and surgical sutures for anti-inflammational and antibacterial characteristics during traumatic cataract treatments. More recently, 3D printing has been demonstrated to effectively fabricate PSI and ACs with complex shapes to meet the personal requirements of patients. We summarize the main principles and the recent achievements of these advances. We also suggest the potential directions for their future development and discuss the remaining challenges.