Van Hoorick Jasper, Delaey Jasper, Vercammen Hendrik, Van Erps Jürgen, Thienpont Hugo, Dubruel Peter, Zakaria Nadia, Koppen Carina, Van Vlierberghe Sandra, Van den Bogerd Bert
Polymer Chemistry & Biomaterials Group, Centre of Macromolecular Chemistry (CMaC), Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Brussels Photonics, Department of Applied Physics and Photonics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Flanders Make, Brussels, 1050, Belgium.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2020 Aug;9(16):e2000760. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202000760. Epub 2020 Jun 30.
Corneal blindness is the fourth leading cause of visual impairment. Of specific interest is blindness due to a dysfunctional corneal endothelium which can only be treated by transplanting healthy tissue from a deceased donor. Unfortunately, corneal supply does not meet the demand with only one donor for every 70 patients. Therefore, there is a huge interest in tissue engineering of grafts consisting of an ultra-thin scaffold seeded with cultured endothelial cells. The present research describes the fabrication of such artificial Descemet membranes based on the combination of a biodegradable amorphous polyester (poly (d,l-lactic acid)) and crosslinkable gelatins. Four different crosslinkable gelatin derivatives are compared in terms of processing, membrane quality, and function, as well as biological performance in the presence of corneal endothelial cells. The membranes are fabricated through multi-step spincoating, including a sacrificial layer to allow for straightforward membrane detachment after production. As a consequence, ultrathin (<1 µm), highly transparent (>90%), semi-permeable membranes could be obtained with high biological potential. The membranes supported the characteristic morphology and correct phenotype of corneal endothelial cells while exhibiting similar proliferation rates as the positive control. As a consequence, the proposed membranes prove to be a promising synthetic alternative to donor tissue.
角膜盲是视力损害的第四大主要原因。特别值得关注的是由于角膜内皮功能障碍导致的失明，这种情况只能通过移植已故供体的健康组织来治疗。不幸的是，角膜供应无法满足需求，每70名患者仅有一名供体。因此，人们对由接种培养内皮细胞的超薄支架组成的移植物组织工程有着浓厚的兴趣。本研究描述了基于可生物降解的无定形聚酯（聚（d，l-乳酸））和可交联明胶的组合制备这种人工Descemet膜的方法。比较了四种不同的可交联明胶衍生物在加工、膜质量、功能以及角膜内皮细胞存在时的生物学性能方面的差异。这些膜通过多步旋涂制备，包括一个牺牲层，以便在生产后直接分离膜。结果，可以获得具有高生物学潜力的超薄（<1 µm）、高度透明（>90%）、半透性的膜。这些膜支持角膜内皮细胞的特征形态和正确表型，同时表现出与阳性对照相似的增殖率。因此，所提出的膜被证明是供体组织的一种有前途的合成替代品。
