High-oxygen eye treatment for mustard gas–related eye injuries
Official title: Tissue Hypoxia and Topical Oxygen Therapy in Ocular Mustard Gas Injury
Funded at Schepens Eye Research Institute · NIH-11328911 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A high-oxygen topical eye emulsion aimed at people with eye injury from mustard gas exposure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Schepens Eye Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $196,998 |
| NIH project number | 3R21EY034833-02S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11328911 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with recent ocular exposure to mustard gas or similar chemical vesicants who have acute corneal injury would be the ideal candidates for future trials.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with long-standing, fully scarred corneas, advanced limbal stem cell deficiency, or irreversible blindness from prior injuries are unlikely to benefit from this acute topical therapy.
What this research studies
Researchers are looking at whether low oxygen in eye tissues makes mustard gas injuries worse and if a perfluorodecalin-based supersaturated oxygen emulsion (SSOE) applied to the eye can reduce that damage. They will use laboratory work with human corneal cells and animal models of chemical eye burns to measure inflammation, abnormal blood vessel growth, oxidative stress, and healing after SSOE treatment. The team has preliminary data showing hypoxia signaling after chemical burns and early signs that SSOE can help, and they will expand those experiments to mimic mustard gas exposure. This preclinical work at Schepens Eye Research Institute is intended to guide possible future patient trials.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this treatment could lower inflammation, scarring, and the risk of vision loss after mustard gas or similar chemical eye injuries.
How similar studies have gone: Some prior studies link reduced hypoxia to better healing in skin and lung chemical injuries and early lab/animal data support SSOE, but topical supersaturated oxygen for mustard-gas eye injury is largely novel and untested in humans.
Where this research is happening
-
Schepens Eye Research Institute
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yin, Jia — Schepens Eye Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Yin, Jia
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.