In vitro evaluation of electrospun blends of gelatin and PCL for application as a partial thickness corneal graft

Rose, J.B.; Sidney, L.E.; Patient, J.; White, L.J.; Dua, H.S.; El Haj, A.J.; Hopkinson, A.; Rose, F.R.A.J.

Abstract

The advent of innovative surgical procedures utilizing partial thickness corneal grafts has created a need for the development of synthetic implants to recreate corneal stromal tissue. This work evaluates electrospun gelatin and polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds as a potential biomaterial suitable for use in regeneration of corneal stromal tissue. Electrospun gelatin has been used for many years in tissue engineering, however, post‐production modification, such as crosslinking, is usually required to mechanically strengthen such scaffolds. This paper aims therefore to compare glutaraldehyde (GA) cross‐linked electrospun gelatin scaffolds with electrospun blends of gelatin and PCL at different ratios. Scaffolds were fabricated using electrospinning and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Attenuated Total Reflectance‐Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR‐FTIR), and tensile testing. To evaluate biocompatibility, primary human corneal stromal cells (hCSC) were seeded upon the scaffolds to assess adherence, proliferation and phenotype. Results demonstrated that scaffolds fabricated from mixtures of gelatin and PCL showed increased mechanical strength and plasticity compared to scaffolds fabricated from GA cross‐linked gelatin alone. In addition, scaffolds fabricated from PCL and gelatin showed comparable support of hCSC adhesion and proliferation. In conclusion, blended mixtures of gelatin and PCL can be considered as an option in the selection of corneal repair materials in the future.

Citation

Rose, J., Sidney, L., Patient, J., White, L., Dua, H., El Haj, A., Hopkinson, A., & Rose, F. (2018). In vitro evaluation of electrospun blends of gelatin and PCL for application as a partial thickness corneal graft. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 107(4), 828-838. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.36598

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 5, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Dec 22, 2018
• Publication Date: Dec 22, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jan 15, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 23, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A
• Print ISSN: 1549-3296
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-4965
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 107
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 828-838
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.36598
• Keywords: Metals and alloys; Biomaterials; Ceramics and composites; Biomedical engineering
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1473458
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jbm.a.36598
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Rose, J. B., Sidney, L. E., Patient, J. , White, L. J., Dua, H. S., El Haj, A. J., Hopkinson, A. and Rose, F. R. (2019), In vitro evaluation of electrospun blends of gelatin and PCL for application as a partial thickness corneal graft. J Biomed Mater Res. which has been published in final form at |https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.36598. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.
• Contract Date: Jan 15, 2019