AUTOMATED FABRICATION OF A COLLAGEN FIBER SCAFFOLD WITH TUNABLE STRUCTURE FOR CORNEA TISSUE ENGINEERING

Abstract

Several attempts have already been made to create a synthetic cornea, as this could solve the problems of graft availability and rejection for those in need of a corneal transplant. To address this need, a device was designed which has the capability of semi-autonomously creating collagen fibers. This device is capable of making a scaffold with a layer of collagen fibers structured like the corneal stroma, and a layer of structured like the corneal Bowman’s membrane. Microscopic visible light transmission studies suggest that these scaffolds transmit at least 98% of visible light. By varying the fabrication parameters, a hydrated scaffold with a tensile strength of 3.24 MPa and a Young’s modulus of 40.10 MPa was achieved. This evaluation suggests that this device can create scaffolds with mechanical properties closer to those of the native human cornea, compared to the collagen hydrogels previously used as corneal implants.