DEUTERATED WATER AND RIBOFLAVIN SOLUTION FOR EXTENDING SINGLET OXYGEN LIFETIMES IN TREATMENT OF OCULAR TISSUE AND METHOD OF USE

A solution of deuterated water containing a riboflavin-based photosensitizer is provided in order to extend life-times of UVA/Rf photo-generated intra-stromal singlet oxygen, in combination with UVA delivery profiles of pulsing, fractionation, and optionally auxiliary stromal/Rf hyper-oxygenation in order to accelerate protein cross-linking density rates in ocular tissue. A 100% deuterated water solution with 0.1% riboflavin in solution increases singlet oxygen lifetimes by at least an order of magnitude without inducing endothelial cell apoptosis, thereby also permitting use of some combination of lower percentages of deuterated water, lower concentrations of riboflavin or lower dosages of UVA on intact (un-debrided) epithelium for equivalent cross-link densities compared to current acceptable corneal cross-linking procedures. Lower concentrations of deuterated water with regular water, for example, yields shorter singlet oxygen lifetimes in approximately linear proportion to concentration, which are considered acceptable in therapies known or being developed in the art of corneal cross-linking.