Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40945255›Full record

ArticleBiomaterials2026

EMERGE patch, a novel electrogenic engineered material to enhance healing of severe corneal wounds.

Li Ma, Brian Reid, Lance Baird, Xiomara Calderón-Colón, Volodymyr Ryzhuk, Soohyun Kim, Ana M Sandoval-Castellanos, Christopher J Murphy, Leslie H Hamilton, Morgana M Trexler and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Biomaterials, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Molecular Mechanisms of Electric Signals Generated at Corneal Wounds.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Li MaDept. of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, Dept of Dermatology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Brian ReidDept. of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, Dept of Dermatology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Lance BairdJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA.
Xiomara Calderón-ColónJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA.
Volodymyr RyzhukDept. of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, Dept of Dermatology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Soohyun KimDept. of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC, Davis, USA.
Ana M Sandoval-CastellanosDept. of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, Dept of Dermatology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Christopher J MurphyDept. of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC, Davis, USA.
Leslie H HamiltonJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA.
Morgana M TrexlerJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA.
Min ZhaoDept. of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, Dept of Dermatology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA. Electronic address: minzhao@health.ucdavis.edu.

Funding

Molecular Generators at Corneal Wounds Produce and regulate the Wound Electrical SignalsR01EY019101 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI ZHAO, MIN · 2010 to 2023
$5.2M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY019101
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Severe corneal wounds with stromal damage, especially those inflicted in battlefield and terrorist attacks, remain a significant clinical challenge. Naturally occurring wound electric fields have been demonstrated to have powerful effects on the healing of corneal epithelial wounds. Here we developed a functional scaffolding material with electrogenic pharmaceutical agents to enhance the healing of stromal wounds, i.e. Engineered Materials that Create Environments for ReGeneration via Electric Field (EMERGE). We first used an excimer laser to produce rat cornea stromal wounds with precisely controlled size and depth and demonstrated that such wounds produced large endogenous wound electric currents. The application of electrogenic compounds significantly increased the wound electric currents and wound healing. We then optimized the EMERGE patches with controlled fibril density, orientation, topography, thickness, optical, and biomechanical properties. The EMERGE patch has the advantage of the way that it supports optimal growth and migration of corneal epithelial cells in vitro. A corneal pocket keratotomy was used to secure the EMERGE patch in deep stroma rabbit corneal wounds without sutures. Corneas were examined with OCT and histological studies for up to four weeks and in one animal up to one year. The EMERGE patch increased wound healing significantly over the non-implant and electrogenic treatment controls (P < 0.05). Optical clarity was significantly improved (P < 0.05), and corneal thickness, histology, and staining of corneal cells showed favorable effects when treated with the EMERGE patch. This novel material thus represents a functional scaffolding with electrogenic agents to enhance the healing of severe corneal wounds.

Indexed as

Biocompatible MaterialsCorneaCorneal InjuriesTissue EngineeringTissue ScaffoldsWound HealingAnimalsRabbitsRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyBiocompatible MaterialsCorneaElectric fieldElectrogenic collagen patchEngineered materialsStromal injuriesWound healing

Identifiers

PMID40945255
PMCPMC13332830

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.