## 1 Introduction  
Full thickness corneal wounds occur with routine cataract surgeries, corneal graft surgeries, penetrating injuries, or as a consequence of severe ocular surface disease. Such full thickness wounds can gape, allowing egress of aqueous fluid, resulting in hypotony, cataract and/or iris prolapse [1, 2]. Simultaneously, ocular surface contaminants can enter the eye's internal sterile environment [2, 3]. This \"recoil suction\" effect had been observed via the ingress of blood stain, fluorescein and Indian Ink into the anterior chamber [3, 4, 5]. It was postulated that if a significant pathogen load enters the eye, endophthalmitis may occur [2]. Endophthalmitis, though uncommon with rates of 0.1% to 0.1% [6, 7] carries a grave ophthalmic prognosis.  
For cataract surgery, clear corneal incisions (CCI) had been shown with Ocular Coherence Tomography (AS-OCT) and Indian Ink ingress had been shown to be not truly self-sealing, even when performed by experienced surgeons [3; 5]. Accidental manipulation by patients can exacerbate leaks from these wounds and [8] intraocular pressure (IOP) can spike transiently to 110 mmHg with an eyelid squeeze [9]. [PERSON] et al. reported a 44 times increased risk of endophthalmitis if the CCI leaked on day one post-cataract surgery versus no leak [6]. However, the technical advantages of CCI have kept cataract surgeons from abandoning this technique [10]. This has prompted research into adjuncts for hermetic corneal wound closure.  
There are a variety of adhesives being used to effect corneal wound closure, with many used off-label due to insufficient data from clinical trials [11]. Cyanoacrylate glues were used to seal corneal wounds but are considered \"second-line\", due to their cytotoxic breakdown products, easy dislodgement prior to complete healing, abrasive nature requiring an overlying bandage contact lens, and non-biodegradability [12; 13]. Fibrin glue had also been applied successfully on the corneal surface but has lower repair strength compared to cyanoacrylates, requires longer preparation time and has inherent risk for blood borne infections [14]. ReSure(r) sealant is a Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)-based hydrogel sealant recently approved for ophthalmic use by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [15]. ReSure(r) tolerates moderate IOP, is synthetic, biodegradable and remains on the ocular surface for three to seven days [16].  
Chitosan is a biopolymer that can be prepared into thin films and holds promise as a material suitable for corneal wound closure. [PERSON] and co-workers had demonstrated that chitosan's naturally adhesive properties can be enhanced through targeted irradiation with a near-infrared laser in the presence of an appropriate chromophore [17; 18; 19]. This was postulated to enhance polyanionic-polycationic interaction and hydrogen bonding between polymers of collagen and chitosan during transient heat expansion and subsequent cooling [18; 19]. In in-vitro studies, this chitosan adhesive was found to be biocompatible with fibroblast cell-lines [19]. This chitosan adhesive was also able to anastomose transected tibial nerve in an in-vivo rodent model [20]. To assess corneal wound integrity, the highest tolerable IOP prior to wound leak--\"burst pressure\"--had been used by various groups to assess other ocular surface adhesives [18; 21; 22]. In this study, we aimed to determine the burst pressure of full thickness corneal wounds closed with this chitosan adhesive and compared against the burst pressures generated from corneal wounds closed with traditional methods of wound closure--sutures and cyanoacrylate glue.