Short-term biological safety of a photoelectric dye used as a component of retinal prostheses

We have designed a new type of retinal prosthesis with a photoelectric dye that transfers photon energy to generate electric potentials. The purpose of this study was to test the safety of a photoelectric dye, 2-[2-[4-(dibutylami no)phenyl]ethenyl]-3-carboxymethylbenzothiazolium bromide (NK-5962), used for retinal prostheses. The retinal cells, derived from chick neurosensory retinas at the 12-day embryonic stage, were a mixed population of retinal neurons and glial cells, and were cultured for 2 days either under protection from light or under continuous light exposure at 230 lux for 9 h daily in the presence of the photoelectric dye at varying concentrations (1.6 × 10^-5, 1.6 × 10^-6, and 1.6 × 10^-7 M) to assess cell viability by staining live cells and dead cells. Dispersed retinal pigment epithelial cells at the same embryonic stage were incubated with the photoelectric dye at varying concentrations (6.6 × 10^-5, 6.6 × 10^-6, and 6.6 × 10^-7 M) for 4 h under protection from light or under continuous light exposure at 320 lux to assess cytotoxicity by measuring the activity of lactate dehydrogenase leaking from cells. The majority of retinal cells were alive with only a small percentage of dead cells under the dark condition or the light condition in the presence or the absence of the photoelectric dye. The percentage of dead cells was significantly smaller at higher concentrations of the photoelectric dye (P = 0.0183, two-factor analysis of variance), while the percentage of dead cells was not significantly different between the dark condition and the light condition (P = 0.3102). Percent cytotoxicity values were negative, indicating protective effects in all groups of retinal pigment epithelial cells incubated with varying concentrations of the photoelectric dye. The photoelectric dye showed no cytotoxicity to chick retinal cells or retinal pigment epithelial cells on short-term exposure. In addition, this photoelectric dye might have protective effects on both types of cells.