Optimization of polycaprolactone - based nanofiber matrices for the cultivation of corneal endothelial cells

Abstract

Posterior lamellar transplantation of the eye’ s cornea (DSAEK, DMEK) currently is the gold standard for treating patients with corneal endothelial cell and back surface pathologies resulting in functional impairment. An artificial biomimetic graft carrying human corneal endothelium could minimize the dependency on human donor corneas giving access to this vision-restoring surgery to large numbers of patients, thus reducing current long waiting lists. In this study, four groups of electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds were compared: polycaprolactone (PCL), PCL/collagen, PCL/gelatin and PCL/chitosan. Each of the scaffolds were tissue-engineered with human corneal endothelial cells (HCEC-B4G12) and analyzed with regard to their potential application as artificial posterior lamellar grafts. Staining with ZO-1 and Na+/K+-ATPase antibodies revealed intact cell functionalities. It could be shown, that blending leads to decreasing contact angle, whereby a heterogeneous blend morphology could be revealed. Scaffold cytocompatibility could be confirmed for all groups via live/dead staining, whereby a significant higher cell viability could be observed for the collagen and gelatine blended matrices with 97 ± 3% and 98 ± 2% living cells respectively. TEM images show the superficial anchoring of the HCECs onto the scaffolds. This work emphasizes the benefit of blended PCL nanofibrous scaffolds for corneal endothelial keratoplasty.

Comparative Study of Polycaprolactone Electrospun Fibers and Casting Films Enriched with Carbon and Nitrogen Sources and Their Potential Use in Water Bioremediation

“…Some reports explained that this type of bacteria possesses better protection against antimicrobial agents, due to their cell wall-specific molecules; in this sense, lipopolysaccharides, which are molecules present in the bacterial cell wall, provide permeability to the cell against several antimicrobial agents, and slow the influx of lipophilic compounds. On the other hand, the porin proteins embedded in the cell membrane give the principal channels for the entry of solutes into the cells [ 58 ].…”

Electrospun PCL Scaffolds as Drug Carrier for Corneal Wound Dressing Using Layer-by-Layer Coating of Hyaluronic Acid and Heparin

“…In case of multilayers, the deprotonated chitosan remains as barrier against the burst release of the polyanionic drugs underneath and a decelerated release is realized. The remaining chitosan has been proven to be harmless in ophthalmological environments [ 35 , 36 , 37 ], and, more generally, in biological environments [ 38 ]. In summary, using LbL-coating the drug loading and release kinetics can easily be adjusted with the number of layers, whereby the drug release is initiated with a pH shift from acidic to neutral environments.…”

“…In case of multilayers, the deprotonated chitosan remains as barrier against the burst release of the polyanionic drugs underneath and a decelerated release is realized. The remaining chitosan has been proven to be harmless in ophthalmological environments [35][36][37], and, more generally, in…”

Examining the Transmission of Visible Light through Electrospun Nanofibrous PCL Scaffolds for Corneal Tissue Engineering

“…From the individual wavelength-transmission data, discrete thickness-transmission data for defined wavelengths were plotted, as shown in Figure 3. Starting from 380 nm, with an increment of 10 nm, fit lines were plotted using an exponential decay function T fit = (100 − T background ) exp(−mx)+T background (8) where T background accounts for the diffuse light transmission of thick scaffolds >50 µm, where the measured light transmission is usually in the range of a few percent. Utilizing Equation ( 8), an optimal description of the data in the thickness range of interest was reached.…”

“…The cornea is the window of the eye, and its transparency is essential for human beings. Recently, electrospun scaffolds have been discussed for use in ophthalmic applications such as wound dressings after corneal surgery [2][3][4][5][6] or as artificial DMEK (Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty) grafts [7,8] for treating patients with corneal endothelial cell pathologies. In both cases, the transparency of the scaffold is of major importance for patients' immediate benefit after surgery.…”