Dry eye disease (DED) is a common disorder. The first-line treatment typically involves lubricating eye drops, which, however, are less effective for evaporative DED, implying the need for a new artificial tear component. This study investigates whether zwitterionic poly(carboxybetaine methacrylate) (polyCBMA) protects the cornea from desiccation. Human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) pretreated with zwitterionic polyCBMA were shifted to desiccative conditions with minimal medium coverage for evaluation of their viability. Additionally, zwitterionic polyCBMA was applied to a hyperevaporative animal model, and the corneal epithelium was evaluated by fluorescein staining. We found that HCECs incubated with zwitterionic polyCBMA were more resistant to desiccating stress. Furthermore, topical pretreatment of the cornea with polyCBMA significantly decreased fluorescein punctate staining, indicating less corneal epithelial damage. In conclusion, zwitterionic polyCBMA could protect the corneal epithelium from desiccating damage, highlighting its clinical value as a supplement in eye drops for patients with DED.

干眼症 (DED) 是一种常见疾病。一线治疗通常涉及润滑眼药水，然而，它对蒸发性 DED 的效果较差，这意味着需要一种新的人工泪液成分。本研究调查两性离子聚（羧基甜菜碱甲基丙烯酸酯）（polyCBMA）是否能保护角膜免受干燥。用两性离子 polyCBMA 预处理的人角膜上皮细胞 (HCEC) 被转移到具有最小培养基覆盖率的干燥条件下，以评估它们的活力。此外，将两性离子型聚CBMA应用于过度蒸发动物模型，并通过荧光素染色评估角膜上皮。我们发现与两性离子型 polyCBMA 一起孵育的 HCEC 对干燥应力的抵抗力更强。此外，用 polyCBMA 对角膜进行局部预处理显着降低了荧光素点状染色，表明角膜上皮损伤较少。总之，两性离子型聚CBMA可以保护角膜上皮免受干燥损伤，突出其作为DED患者滴眼液补充剂的临床价值。