There are reasons to call graphene a "supermaterial". Although it's just a one atom thick film of carbon, it's super strong, super flexible, and super light. It also conducts electricity and is biodegradable. Recently, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, an international team of researchers proposed a new use for graphene: the creation of an artificial retina.
The retina is a layer of light-sensitive cells in the fundus that converts images into signals that the brain can interpret. Without a working retina, a person simply cannot see.
Millions of people suffer from retinal diseases that lead to vision loss. To restore their sight, scientists have created artificial retinas. But what we have now is not perfect - these implants are rigid and flat, the images they reproduce are often blurry or distorted. And although these implants are fragile, they can still damage nearby eye tissue.
Graphene, for all its unique properties, can become the basis for creating the best artificial retina.
Using a combination of graphene, molybdenum disulfide (another two-dimensional material), gold, aluminum oxide and silicon nitrate, researchers from the University of Texas and Seoul National University have created an artificial retina with the best characteristics to date.
Based on laboratory studies and animal experiments, researchers have established that this retina is biologically compatible with living tissues and is able to mimic the properties of the eye. In addition, it is more in line with the size of the natural retina.
“This is the first demonstration of the ability to create an artificial retina based on multiple layers of graphene and molybdenum disulfide,” researcher Nanshu Lu said in a press release. "Although our research is still at the very beginning, it is an excellent starting point towards the use of these materials in the restoration of vision."
If further research on the graphene-based artificial retina is successful, the ability to restore vision can be added to the list of superpowers of the supermaterial.
Promotional video:
Vadim Tarabarko