title: Designing a gas foamed scaffold for keratoprosthesis.
abstract: Artificial corneas or keratoprostheses are intended to replace diseased or damaged cornea in the event that vision cannot be restored using donor cornea tissue. A new class of artificial cornea comprising a combination of poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) and poly (methyl methacrylate) was developed which was fabricated using a gas foaming technique. Referred to as the gas-foamed KPro, it was designed to permit clear vision and secure host biointegration to facilitate long-term stability of the device. In vitro assessments show cell growth into the body of the porous edge or skirt of the gas-foamed KPro. The optically transparent center (i.e., core) of the device demonstrates 85 - 90% of light transmittance in the 500 - 700 nm wavelength range. Mechanical tensile data indicates that the gas-foamed KPro is mechanically stable enough to maintain its structure in the ocular environment and also during implantation. The gas-foamed KPro may provide an alternate option for cornea replacement that minimizes post implantation tissue melting, thereby achieving long-term stability in the ocular environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60607, USA.
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zellander
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gemeinhart
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Djalilian
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makhsous
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D001187:Artificial Organs; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry*; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005740:Gases; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate