Story perspectives

Singapore Eye Drops Harness Spinach Photosynthesis, Beat Restasis

5/16/2026

Summary

Story summary

Singapore researchers led by Associate Professor David Leong Tai Wei created eye-drop therapy that transplants plant photosynthetic machinery to treat dry eye disease.
400-nm LEAF particles from spinach thylakoid grana generate ~20 % more NADPH and reversed corneal damage in five days, beating Restasis®.
The Cell paper on 15 May 2026 reports the first-successful transplantation of plant photosynthetic machinery into mammalian tissue, affecting over 1.5 billion people and costing the United States US$3.84 billion annually.

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Story summary

Singapore researchers led by Associate Professor David Leong Tai Wei created eye-drop therapy that transplants plant photosynthetic machinery to treat dry eye disease.
400-nm LEAF particles from spinach thylakoid grana generate ~20 % more NADPH and reversed corneal damage in five days, beating Restasis®.
The Cell paper on 15 May 2026 reports the first-successful transplantation of plant photosynthetic machinery into mammalian tissue, affecting over 1.5 billion people and costing the United States US$3.84 billion annually.