André Schulz, Katelyn E Swindle-Reilly, Gopal Lingam, Maximilian Hammer, Zengping Liu
Vitreous substitutes remain a fundamental unmet need in regenerative medicine: current tamponade agents, gases and silicone oil, address immediate surgical challenges but neglect the long-term functional role of the tissue they replace. A paradigm shift towards durable, biomimetic hydrogel substitutes is not a distant ambition, but a clinical necessity.