title: Microfluidic-based non-enzymatic glycation enhances cross-linking of human scleral tissue compared to conventional soaking.
abstract: We evaluated nano-structural and chemical changes in human scleral collagen caused by non-enzymatic glycation using AFM, Raman spectroscopy, and microfluidics. Twenty 8 × 2 mm2scleral strips (n = 5, each) were divided into four groups of pure sclera tissues (control group) and sclera tissues with incubation (1 hr in BSS and ribose) and preservation (23 hr in 90% ethanol) for 7 days (BSS + DR7group) and 30 days (BSS + DR30group) at room temperature, and 7 days in a microfluidic chip (BSS + DR + µF7group). The BSS + DR7and BSS + DR30groups were incubated in a mixture of balanced salt solution (BSS) and 0.2 M D-ribose in PBS, pH 7.4 containing 0.1% sodium azide, while the BSS + DR + µF7group was incubated in the same solutions supplied by two inlet reservoirs from a microfluidic chip. The scleral tissues incubated in the microfluidic environment showed a clear irregular parallel arrangement of collagen fibrils with tangled fibrils. A Raman shift was observed at 919 cm-1in the glycation groups. Non-enzymatic glycation led to an increased in the density of scleral stromal collagen. Our method using non-enzymatic glycation in a microfluidic environment successfully induced collagen cross-linking. These in vitro results suggested that glycation can be used to strengthen connective tissues. SCANNING 38:421-426, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Samjin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Woong
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. khjinmd@khmc.or.kr.
authors.forename: Kyung-Hyun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. pbloadsky@naver.com.
authors.forename: Jae-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D008297:Male; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D012590:Sclera / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen
keywords: D-ribose; Raman spectroscopy; atomic force microscopy; microfluidic chip; non-enzymatic glycation