title: Composite electrospun gelatin fiber-alginate gel scaffolds for mechanically robust tissue engineered cornea.
abstract: A severe shortage of good quality donor cornea is now an international crisis in public health. Alternatives for donor tissue need to be urgently developed to meet the increasing demand for corneal transplantation. Hydrogels have been widely used as scaffolds for corneal tissue regeneration due to their large water content, similar to that of native tissue. However, these hydrogel scaffolds lack the fibrous structure that functions as a load-bearing component in the native tissue, resulting in poor mechanical performance. This work shows that mechanical properties of compliant hydrogels can be substantially enhanced with electrospun nanofiber reinforcement. Electrospun gelatin nanofibers were infiltrated with alginate hydrogels, yielding transparent fiber-reinforced hydrogels. Without prior crosslinking, electrospun gelatin nanofibers improved the tensile elastic modulus of the hydrogels from 78±19 kPa to 450±100 kPa. Stiffer hydrogels, with elastic modulus of 820±210 kPa, were obtained by crosslinking the gelatin fibers with carbodiimide hydrochloride in ethanol before the infiltration process, but at the expense of transparency. The developed fiber-reinforced hydrogels show great promise as mechanically robust scaffolds for corneal tissue engineering applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK.
authors.forename: Khaow
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tonsomboon
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Oyen
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001187:Artificial Organs; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D003315:Cornea / Q000254:growth & development*; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004595:Electroplating / Q000379:methods; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006244:Hardness; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012031:Refractometry; D012399:Rotation; D013552:Swine; D013718:Tensile Strength; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005782:Gels; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D005780:Gelatin