NanoCurv
NanoCurv is an artificial cornea composed of a novel hydrogel called N-Methacryolyl Chitosan (NMAC). It is derived from shrimp which allows us to kills 2 birds with one stone, it allows our product to be affordable to manufacture (because there is plenty of shrimp) and to have great biocompadibility.
Our inspiration of the anti-bacterial properties come from the cicada. The cicada wing has similar pillars as the ones you see on the right. These pillars act as needles which puncture bacteria upon contact, giving our cornea its anti-bacterial properties. Which means our product does not require additional antibacterial eyedrops that other artificial corneas need. (scale bar shows 1 μm)
On top of our bio-compadible material, we also implemented the use of nano-grooves which act as anchors for cells around the cornea to bind to. This greatly improves cell affinity. The image on the left shows us a SEM image of a cell binding onto the nanogrooves.
Contact Lenses
Along with our artificial corneas, our team plans to diversify into contact lenses. Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) contact lenses have market of $99.8 million, our team has validated through 44 interviews with professionals in the field of optomology that RGP contact lenses with anti-bacterial properties will be exceptionally profitable. Along with its profitability, contact lenses are a non-invasive medical device meaning that there are less stringent testing and certification involved. This means that the contact lenses can be released into the market much faster than the artificial cornea.