title: Poly (epsilon-caprolactone) nanofibrous ring surrounding a polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel for the development of a biocompatible two-part artificial cornea.
abstract: The study aimed to fabricate and characterize a 2-part artificial cornea as a substitute for penetrating keratoplasty in patients with corneal blindness. The peripheral part of the artificial cornea consisted of plasma-treated electrospun poly (ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers, which were attached to a hydrogel disc of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a central optical part. The physical properties of the prepared artificial cornea, including morphology, mechanical properties, light transmittance, and contact angle, were assessed. Cell attachment and proliferation studies were performed on rabbit limbal stem cells. The SEM image of the polymeric system showed that the peripheral part formed a highly porous scaffold that could facilitate tissue biointegration. Assessment of the mechanical properties of the peripheral nanofibrous part and the hydrogel optical part showed suitable elasticity. Young's modulus values of the electrospun PCL skirt and PVA hydrogel core were 7.5 and 5.3 MPa, respectively, which is in line with the elasticity range of natural human cornea (0.3-7 MPa). The light transmittance of the central part was >85% when measured in the 400-800 nm wavelength range. The plasma-treated PCL nanofibrous scaffold promoted limbal stem cell adhesion and proliferation within 10 days. These results confirmed that the polymeric artificial cornea showed suitable physical properties and good biocompatibility and epithelialization ability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Shaheed Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Haleh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bakhshandeh
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soleimani
authors.forename: Saied Shah
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.forename: Iman
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shabani
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shafiee
authors.forename: Amir Houshang Behesht
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Nejad
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erfan
authors.forename: Rassoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dinarvand
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Atyabi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001187:Artificial Organs; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003315:Cornea; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D008422:Materials Testing; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011137:Polystyrenes; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry*; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011817:Rabbits; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters; D011137:Polystyrenes; C062364:polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel; C016240:polycaprolactone; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol