Influence of Matrix Processing on the Optical and Biomechanical Properties of a Corneal Stroma Equivalent

Alternatives to eye bank native tissue for corneal stromal replacement

“…Aligning stromal cells could be a first step in obtaining aligned collagen fibrils. Corneal stromal fibroblasts and keratocytes derived from stem cells, like many other cell types, will follow a specific orientation if cultured on microgrooved substrates (Crabb and Hubel, 2008;Guillemette et al, 2009;Teixeira et al, 2004;Vrana et al, 2007), on magnetically aligned collagen scaffolds (Torbet et al, 2007), or on aligned polyester urethane urea (PEUU) substrates (Wu et al, 2014;Wu et al, 2013), a process called "contact guidance". Interestingly, fibroblasts cultured on microgrooved substrates develop a second overlying cell layer that aligns with an angle shift of 60 o (Guillemette et al, 2009).…”

The Development of a Tissue-Engineered Cornea: Biomaterials and Culture Methods

“…This study indicates that the microstructure of the culture substrate can have an effect on cellular response. A follow-up study by this group (Crabb,38a) demonstrated methods for improving the collagen film substrate in terms of mechanical and optical properties. Films produced from a mixture of insoluble collagen and soluble tropocollagen and crosslinked via a glucosemediated ultraviolet (UV) method exhibited enhanced mechanical and optical properties.…”

Application of Hydrogels in Ocular Tissue Engineering

“…Crabb et al, 105 studied effects of collagen processing methods (isolation and crosslinking) and film topography on optical and biomechanical properties of collagen film-based stroma. To micropattern collagen films, a dispersion of soluble and insoluble collagen was cast onto holographic diffraction grating replicas with 1 µm and 2 µm groove spacing and 1 µm depth.…”

“…(i) Micro ridges/grooves for cell elongation and alignment. 76,77,102,103,105,106 (ii) Organ-on-a-chip devices for co-culture of different cell layers to mimic compositional structure of cornea. 107 (iii) Microfabrication of a 3D hydrogel construct for artificial cornea consisting of strong central optic part and resilient lateral part using photolithography.…”