ISOF researchers are part of the team that developed the first liquid retinal prosthesis invented to repair damaged retinas caused by degenerative or aging diseases that can lead to blindness. The research, in collaboration with the team of the Center for Nano Science of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) of Milan coordinated by Guglielmo Lanzani and the Center for Synaptic Neuroscience of the IIT of Genoa, coordinated by Fabio Benfenati was published on the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The “second generation” artificial retina developed is made of thiophene-based nanoparticles suspended in an aqueous solution, produced at the Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity of the National Research Council (CNR-ISOF), able to convert light in a biolectric signal that stimulates cells by mimicking the functioning of natural photoreceptors. This result represents the state of the art in the field of retinal prostheses.
National Research Council of Italy