Imagine using part of your blood to help heal your eyes
A study by Liu et al. (2025) explores a new way to treat corneal neovascularization, a condition where unwanted blood vessels grow into the eye, often causing vision loss. Instead of relying on steroids or injections, researchers used tiny particles called extracellular vesicles, which are naturally released by platelets (the part of your blood that helps stop bleeding and repair injuries).
They loaded these vesicles with kaempferol, a plant-based compound known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic (anti-blood vessel growth) properties. The result? A simple eye drop that reduced inflammation, blocked abnormal vessel growth, and helped the eye heal more effectively.
Why we found this exciting:
It’s a smart, gentle approach that uses the body’s own healing tools to deliver treatment exactly where it’s needed, without the risks of long-term steroid use or invasive procedures.
To measure how well the treatment worked, the team used the MILLIPLEX xMAP Mouse Cytokine/Chemokine Magnetic Bead kits (Merck Millipore) which can be found in our portfolio for research solutions. This assisted the researchers in tracking inflammation and healing markers in the eye.
Congratulations to Guei-Sheung (Rick) Liu, Huai-An Chen, Che-Yi Change, Yin-ju Chen, Yu-yi Wu, Ariel Widhibrata, Ya-Han Yang, Erh-Hsuan Hsieg, Liling Delila, I-Change Lin, Thierry Burnouf and Ching-Li Tseng
Reference:
Liu, G.-S. et al. (2025) ‘Platelet-derived extracellular vesicle drug delivery system loaded with Kaempferol for treating corneal neovascularization’, Biomaterials, 319, p. 123205. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2025.123205.
