Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, Maastricht University, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Department of Instructive Biomaterial Engineering, Maastricht University, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Biomater Sci. 2024 Sep 25;12(19):4993-5009. doi: 10.1039/d4bm00409d.
Corneal diseases, a leading cause of global vision impairment, present challenges in treatment due to corneal tissue donor scarcity and transplant rejection. Hydrogel biomaterials in the form of corneal implants for tissue regeneration, while promising, have faced obstacles related to cellular and tissue integration. This study develops and investigates the potential of granular polyrotaxane (GPR) hydrogels as a scaffold for corneal keratocyte growth and transparent tissue generation. Employing host-guest driven supramolecular interactions, we developed injectable, cytocompatible hydrogels. By optimizing cyclodextrin (CD) concentrations in thiol-ene crosslinked PEG microgels, we observed improved mechanical properties and thermoresponsiveness while preserving injectability. These microgels, adaptable for precise defect filling, 3D printing or tissue culture facilitate enhanced cellular integration with corneal keratocytes and exhibit tissue-like structures in culture. Our findings demonstrate the promise of GPR hydrogels as a minimally invasive avenue for corneal tissue regeneration. These results have the potential to address transplantation challenges, enhance clinical outcomes, and restore vision.
角膜疾病是全球视力损害的主要原因,由于角膜组织供体稀缺和移植排斥,治疗存在挑战。水凝胶生物材料以角膜植入物的形式用于组织再生,虽然有前景,但在细胞和组织整合方面面临障碍。本研究开发并研究了颗粒聚轮烷(GPR)水凝胶作为角膜成纤维细胞生长和透明组织生成的支架的潜力。我们利用主体-客体驱动的超分子相互作用开发了可注射的细胞相容性水凝胶。通过优化巯基-烯点击交联 PEG 微凝胶中的环糊精(CD)浓度,我们观察到了机械性能和温度响应性的改善,同时保持了可注射性。这些微凝胶可适应精确的缺陷填充、3D 打印或组织培养,促进与角膜成纤维细胞的更好的细胞整合,并在培养中表现出组织样结构。我们的研究结果表明 GPR 水凝胶作为一种微创的角膜组织再生途径具有潜力。这些结果有可能解决移植挑战、提高临床效果并恢复视力。