Fig. 1.

Implants, structure and mechanical stability. Control RHCIII-MPC implants (a) and CLP-PEG implants (b) are both optically clear as 500 μm thick corneal shaped implants. Similarly, mimicking RHCIII-MPC implants (c) CLP-PEG implants (d) display a nanofibrillar structure when observed using high pressure freezing TEM imaging. Scale bars, 200 nm. Oscillatory rheology of CLP-hydrogels pre- and post-grafting into rabbit corneas compared to healthy, unoperated rabbit corneas. (e) Storage modulus, (f) Loss modulus and (g) Loss tangent as a function of oscillation frequency at 0.27% shear strain amplitude.