Journal article
Ultrathin chitosan-poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel films for corneal tissue engineering
B Ozcelik, KD Brown, A Blencowe, M Daniell, GW Stevens, GG Qiao
Acta Biomaterialia | Published : 2013
Abstract
Due to the high demand for donor corneas and their low supply, autologous corneal endothelial cell (CEC) culture and transplantation for treatment of corneal endothelial dysfunction would be highly desirable. Many studies have shown the possibility of culturing CECs in vitro, but lack potential robust substrates for transplantation into the cornea. In this study, we investigate the properties of novel ultrathin chitosan-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogel films (CPHFs) for corneal tissue engineering applications. Cross-linking of chitosan films with diepoxy-PEG and cystamine was employed to prepare ∼50 μm (hydrated) hydrogel films. Through variation of the PEG content (1.5-5.9 wt.%) it was ..
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Grants
Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank the Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia (ORIA) for funding, Dr Andrea O'Connor (Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne) for use of facilities, Katrina Harris for experimental assistance, and Filmetrics for spectral reflectance measurements. Corneal confocal microscopy was carried out by Adrienne Mackey from Lions Eye Donation Service, Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA). The MALDI ToF MS used in these studies was supported under Australian Research Council's Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) funding scheme (LE0882576).