Optically transparent, light-triggered CO-releasing contact lenses for precision antibacterial ocular therapy

Advanced optical contact lenses require multifunctional, photochemically active materials that preserve transparency while enabling controlled therapeutic delivery. Carbon monoxide (CO), an endogenous gasotransmitter, exhibits potent anti-inflammatory, cytoprotective, and wound-healing effects; however, its integration into soft optical devices for light-regulated ocular delivery remains unexplored. Here, we report a light-responsive optical platform based on the incorporation of a dansyl-functionalized photoactivatable CO-releasing molecule (Dansyl-CORM) into contact lenses (Dansyl-CORM@CL) via a facile drop-casting approach. The hybrid lenses enable spatiotemporally controlled CO release upon light irradiation, accompanied by turn-on fluorescence that serves as an intrinsic optical activation probe. Importantly, the lenses retain high optical transparency before and after activation, show no detectable molecular leakage up to 12 h, and maintain structural and chemical stability under physiological aqueous conditions. CO release kinetics were quantitatively monitored using a portable sensor, enabling real-time in situ evaluation. Beyond gas delivery, the multifunctional platform provides >95% attenuation of blue light, as determined by UV–Vis transmittance spectroscopy over the 400-500 nm wavelength range, while also demonstrating strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This work establishes a photoresponsive, gas-releasing optical material that integrates therapeutic functionality, fluorescence reporting, and spectral filtering, offering a new paradigm for smart, light-activated ocular biomaterials and precision ophthalmic therapy.