Biomimetic polymers for ophthalmic surgical implants – MIMATIC

Technological innovation in the field of biomaterials plays a major role in improving the performance and biocompatibility of surgical implants, and opens new therapeutic perspectives. In this context, MIMATIC is a transversal research program that aims to develop a new class of biomaterials and bioactive coatings that meet the medical needs and constraints of the market for implantable medical devices, especially in the field of ophthalmology. MIMATIC proposes to develop new long-term surface properties for surgical implants that are fully involved in the management of many eye diseases, including intraocular lens (cataract), trabecular drainage implants (glaucoma) or artificial retinas (retinitis pigmentosa).

MIMATIC use an innovative technological process of chemical synthesis to design bioactive synthetic polymers on the surface of many types of materials. Indeed, this method is based on a principle of molecular biomimetic, especially regarding certain macromolecules of the extracellular matrix implicated in the material/tissue interactions, such as glycoanimoglycanes (GAGs). It allows obtaining copies of specific biochemical binding domain in the structure of our synthetic polymers to give them special biological properties.

The first application of these polymers relates to intraocular lenses which has been developed an anti-proliferative coating against cells responsible for the main post-operative complication of the cataract surgery after lens implantation called Posterior Capsule Opacification (PCO). MIMATIC aims to continue the development of intraocular lenses until a preclinical validation, as well as to extend this technology to other ophthalmic applications.

The MIMATIC project includes two strategies to promote this technological development:
i) the evaluation of the surface properties of current bioactive polymers against the proliferation of new cell types, and in particular ocular trabecular meshwork cells, and bacteria. Besides the prevention of bacterial infections, the target application is to prevent obstruction (fibrosis) of trabecular shunt devices drainage used in the treatment of some sort of glaucoma. This research also involves the adaptation of chemical synthesis process of polymers for our new medical device materials.
ii) the development of new bioactive polymers targeting novel biological properties and in particular to promote neuronal interaction and neuritic outgrowth. The goal is to design a coating for artificial retina to enhance the connection between the neurons of the retina and the electrodes of the device.

MIMATIC is based on a consortium of the CEA, the Institute of Vision and BioWinTech Company, which involves a multidisciplinary team with all skills and know-how in the field of chemistry, biology and biomedical sciences required for the achievement of this research program. MIMATIC is a public-private partnership based on a continuation of previous collaborations to develop new biomaterials for therapeutic purposes. The results obtained in these collaborations have demonstrated the feasibility and usefulness of this research project, and has allowed to have a first intellectual property protection (co-ownership CEA / BioWinTech) to use this technology of bioactive polymers in the field of implantable medical devices