Ortega, I., McKean, R., Ryan, A.J. orcid.org/0000-0001-7737-0526 et al. (2 more authors) (2014) Characterisation and evaluation of the impact of microfabricated pockets on the performance of limbal epithelial stem cells in biodegradable PLGA membranes for corneal regeneration. Biomaterials Science, 2 (5). pp. 723-734. ISSN 2047-4830
Abstract
Scarring of the cornea affects thousands of people every year, significantly reducing the quality of life and potentially leading to corneal blindness. Although cultured limbal epithelial cells have been used to regenerate scarred corneas for more than 15 years, the culture strategies do not deliver cells under the physiological conditions they experience in vivo. One of the main characteristics of stem cells is their ability to self-renew to maintain a tissue for a lifetime. Stem cells’ unique characteristics are thought to be at least partially due to their location within enclosed protective microenvironments or niches. For corneal stem cells these are located in intricate microenvironments or niches situated within areas of the limbal region known as the Palisades of Vogt. These are located in the limbus which is the area between the cornea and sclera. In this study we introduced micropockets into biodegradable microfabricated membranes and explored the potential contribution of these structures to limbal cell migration and their ability to deliver cells to a 3D cornea model. Membranes with micropockets were characterized using SEM, OCT, light microscopy and nanoindentation. Results indicate that the micropockets enhance the migration of cells from limbal explants and cells transfer readily from the membranes to the ex vivo cornea model.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2014. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Clinical Dentistry (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Chemistry (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 27 Jul 2017 10:52 |
Last Modified: | 27 Jul 2017 10:52 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1039/C3BM60268K |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Royal Society of Chemistry |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1039/C3BM60268K |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:119432 |