title: Adhesion and metabolic activity of human corneal cells on PCL based nanofiber matrices.
abstract: In this work, polycaprolactone (PCL) was used as a basic polymer for electrospinning of random and aligned nanofiber matrices. Our aim was to develop a biocompatible substrate for ophthalmological application to improve wound closure in defects of the cornea as replacement for human amniotic membrane. We investigated whether blending the hydrophobic PCL with poly (glycerol sebacate) (PGS) or chitosan (CHI) improves the biocompatibility of the matrices for cell expansion. Human corneal epithelial cells (HCEp) and human corneal keratocytes (HCK) were used for in vitro biocompatibility studies. After optimization of the electrospinning parameters for all blends, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and water contact angle were used to characterize the different matrices. Fluorescence staining of the F-actin cytoskeleton of the cells was performed to analyze the adherence of the cells to the different matrices. Metabolic activity of the cells was measured by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) for 20days to compare the biocompatibility of the materials. Our results show the feasibility of producing uniform nanofiber matrices with and without orientation for the used blends. All materials support adherence and proliferation of human corneal cell lines with oriented growth on aligned matrices. Although hydrophobicity of the materials was lowered by blending PCL, no increase in biocompatibility or proliferation, as was expected, could be measured. All tested matrices supported the expansion of human corneal cells, confirming their potential as substrates for biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; Institute of Polymer Materials, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstraße 7, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stafiej
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; Institute of Polymer Materials, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstraße 7, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Küng
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thieme
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Czugala
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Friedrich E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Kruse
authors.affiliation: Institute of Polymer Materials, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstraße 7, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Dirk W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany. Electronic address: thomas.fuchsluger@uk-erlangen.de.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Fuchsluger
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D048271:Chitosan / Q000494:pharmacology; D003315:Cornea / Q000166:cytology*; D003651:Decanoates; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D005990:Glycerol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011091:Polyesters / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011108:Polymers; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D003651:Decanoates; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; C469892:poly(glycerol-sebacate); D014867:Water; C016240:polycaprolactone; D048271:Chitosan; D005990:Glycerol
keywords: Cell culture; Cornea; Electrospinning; Nanofibers; Polycaprolactone; Tissue engineering