Abstract: This invention relates to a prosthetic replacement for the cornea and particularly to a transparent collagen material useful for making such a prosthesis and to methods for making such transparent collagen material. The prosthesis is preferably composed of a native, non-fibrilized, transparent collagen material formed from a soluble collagen solution by ultracentrifuging to form a pellet and fixing the same pellet, whereby the collagen material has less than 5% absorbance of light at 900 nm for a 5 mm thick sample and comprises polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate or vitrosin, in a range of from 0.01 to 50.0 percent by weight, based on the collagen protein.

Abstract: A transparent native, non-fibrilized collagen material is described having an absorbence at a wavelength of 900 nm of less than 5% in a sample 5 mm thick. This collagen material is useful for a prosthetic replacement of the cornea because of the high transparency and because it is a native material, and thus less susceptible to immunogenic responses. A method for forming the native, non-fibrilized, highly transparent collagen material comprises ultracentrifuging a purified solution of native collagen to form a pellet of transparent collagen material, and fixing the pellet of collagen material to form a rigid, leather-like material. The collagen material can also be used for prosthetic replacement of other bodily tissues, such as nucleus pulposus, cartilage, and vitreous body.