Surgical corrections of the eye refractive errors follow principles of curvature optics. The alternative approach explains optical imperfections of eye through the concept of optical path length and wavefront aberrations. The purpose of this theoretical study is to explore nano- and meta-materials and structures’ versatile optical properties for vision correction through the concept of optical path length and quantum optics - which have recently been used in modern adaptive optics systems for the refinement of imaging.

We identified and listed the novel nanomaterial behaviors of light retardation, negative refractive index, slow light, phase conjugation, light trapping, light propagation buffering, etc.; organized them in a conceptual framework; and elaborated on potential clinical exploitations of these features.

6 major groups of nano-scale materials and structures with noticeable optical characteristics were identified: nanocomposites (including nanoparticles like semiconductor quantum dots and metal nanoparticles), metamaterials, photonic crystals, nematic liquid crystals (LCs), LCs plus photonic crystals and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Nanomaterial optics has optimum versatility for optical tuning of the eye. Nanomaterial sheets and structures will soon revolutionize surgical correction of eye aberrations either at the corneal plane or intraocular space; not only the static and stable elements of the errors but also the dynamic focusing failure of eye i.e. presbyopia.