Inherited retinal dystrophies and late-stage age-related macular degeneration, for which treatments remain limited, are among the most prevalent causes of legal blindness. Retinal prostheses have been developed to stimulate the inner retinal network; however, lack of sensitivity and resolution, and the need for wiring or external cameras, have limited their application. Here we show that conjugated polymer nanoparticles (P3HT NPs) mediate light-evoked stimulation of retinal neurons and persistently rescue visual functions when subretinally injected in a rat model of retinitis pigmentosa. P3HT NPs spread out over the entire subretinal space and promote light-dependent activation of spared inner retinal neurons, recovering subcortical, cortical and behavioural visual responses in the absence of trophic effects or retinal inflammation. By conferring sustained light sensitivity to degenerate retinas after a single injection, and with the potential for high spatial resolution, P3HT NPs provide a new avenue in retinal prosthetics with potential applications not only in retinitis pigmentosa, but also in age-related macular degeneration.

遗传性视网膜营养不良和晚期年龄相关性黄斑变性，治疗仍然有限，是法定失明的最普遍原因之一。已经开发出视网膜假体来刺激内部视网膜网络；然而，缺乏灵敏度和分辨率，以及需要接线或外部摄像头，限制了它们的应用。在这里，我们显示共轭聚合物纳米粒子 (P3HT NPs) 介导视网膜神经元的光诱发刺激，并在视网膜下注射到色素性视网膜炎大鼠模型中时持续拯救视觉功能。P3HT NPs 散布在整个视网膜下空间，促进剩余视网膜内神经元的光依赖性激活，在没有营养效应或视网膜炎症的情况下恢复皮质下、皮质和行为视觉反应。