nano-GLU: a glutamate-based retinal prosthesis to recover visual functions in Retinitis pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic degenerative disease of the retina causing peripheral vision loss and night blindness eventually resolving into total vision impairment, a condition for which no effective cure is available at present. The degeneration affects the presynaptic side of the synapse between photoreceptors and inner retinal neurons, leaving it still active but without light-dependent input. This project aims at the restoration of these lost synaptic connections with a novel retinal prosthetic device based on the release of glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the retina. 

We will combine nanotechnological tools and smart polymers to interface the denervated inner retinal neurons with a nanodevice able to release glutamate upon illumination and re-create a hybrid abiotic/biotic connection with the degenerated retinal tissue.

The proposed “chemical” retinal prosthesis will be entirely organic and flexible and will be implanted in vivo in the subretinal space of Royal College of Surgeons rats, a well-known model of human RP. This strategy, exploiting the inherent glutamate sensitivity of BCs, surpasses the concept of standard retinal electrical stimulation and provides a biomimetic therapeutic tool for the recovery of photoreceptor loss and a physiological visual perception in patients affected by RP.