Articles & Issues

Conflict of Interest: In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Articles in press

금 나노입자의 광열 효과를 이용한 인공수정체의 후낭 혼탁 억제

Inhibition of Posterior Capsule Opacification on Intraocular Lens Using Photothermal Effect of Gold Nanoparticles

Hun Kwan Kim¹ 송기창^1†

¹건양대학교 의료신소재학과

In Press, Journal Pre-proof, Available online 1 February 2026

Abstract

후낭 혼탁(posterior capsule opacification, PCO)은 백내장 수술 후 흔히 발생하는 합병증으로, 인공수정체(intraocular lens, IOL) 수술 후에 잔존하는 수정체 상피세포(lens epithelial cell, LEC)가 IOL 표면에 부착 및 증식됨에 의해 유발된다. 본 연구에서는 근적외선(near-infrared, NIR) 조사 하에서 열을 발생시킬 수 있는 금 나노입자를 IOL 표면 위에 도포하여, 광열 효과에 의해 IOL 표면 위에 부착 및 증식되는 LEC를 사멸시킴에 의해 IOL 표면에서 발생되는 PCO의 억제 가능성을 살펴보았다. 금 나노입자는 전구체인 HAuCl4를 sodium borohydride로 환원시켜 제조하였으며, 제조된 금 나노입자는 소수성 아크릴 IOL 표면에 도포되었다. 광열 특성은 808 nm 파장의 NIR 레이저 조사 하에서 평가되었는데 여러 조성 중에서 특히 HAuCl₄농도 50 mM, dopamine 농도 9.0 mM 조건에서 합성된 금 나노입자로 도포된 IOL은 36oC의 온도 증가를 보여 가장 우수한 광열 효과를 보였다. 또한 금 나노입자가 도포된 IOL은 2%의 세포 독성을 보여 생체적합성이 우수하였다. 이상의 결과는 본 연구를 통해 합성된 금 나노입자가 IOL 위에 도포될 때 광열 효과에 의해 LEC를 사멸시킬 수 있으므로 IOL 표면에서의 PCO 발생 억제 가능성을 보여주었다.

Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is a common complication after cataract surgery, and is caused by the attachment and proliferation of lens epithelial cell (LEC) that remains after intraocular lens (IOL) surgery. In this study, it was examined the possibility of inhibiting PCO on the IOL surface by applying Au nanoparticle (AuNP) that can generate heat under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation on the IOL surface to kill the LEC that adheres and proliferates on the IOL surface by photothermal effect. AuNP was prepared by reducing the precursor HAuCl4 with sodium bohydride, and the prepared AuNP was applied to the surface of hydrophobic acrylic IOL. The photothermal properties were evaluated under NIR laser irradiation at a wavelength of 808 nm. Among the various compositions, the IOL coated with the AuNP synthesized under conditions of 50 mM HAuCl₄concentration and 9.0 mM dopamine concentration showed the best photothermal effect, with a temperature increase of 36oC. In addition, IOL to which AuNP was applied showed cytotoxicity of 2% and was excellent in biocompatibility. The above results show that the AuNP synthesized in this study can kill LEC by the photothermal effect when applied on the IOL, thereby exhibiting the possibility of suppressing PCO generation on the IOL surface.

Keywords

Gold nanoparticle Photothermal effect Intraocular lens HAuCl4 Dopamine Posterior capsule opacification