Corneal stromal structure replicating humanized hydrogel patch for sutureless repair of deep anterior-corneal defect.
Biomaterials
; 313: 122754, 2025 Feb.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39197237
ABSTRACT
A critical shortage of donor corneas exists worldwide. Hydrogel patches with a biological architecture and functions that simulate those of native corneas have garnered considerable attention. This study introduces a stromal structure replicating corneal patch (SRCP) composed of a decellularized cornea-templated nanotubular skeleton, recombinant human collagen, and methacrylated gelatin, exhibiting a similar ultrastructure and transmittance (above 80 %) to natural cornea. The SRCP is superior to the conventional recombinant human collagen patch in terms of biomechanical properties and resistance to enzymatic degradation. Additionally, SRCP promotes corneal epithelial and stromal cell migration while preventing the trans-differentiation of stromal cells into myofibroblasts. When applied to an ocular surface (37 °C), SRCP releases methacrylated gelatin, which robustly binds SRCP to the corneal stroma after activation by 405 nm light. Compared to gelatin-based photocurable hydrogel, the SRCP better supports the restoration of normal corneal curvature and withstands deformation under an elevated intraocular pressure (100 mmHg). In an in vivo deep anterior-corneal defect model, SRCP facilitated epithelial healing and vision recovery within 2 weeks, maintained graft structural stability, and inhibited stromal scarring at 4 weeks post-operation. The ideal performance of the SRCP makes it a promising humanized corneal equivalent for sutureless clinical applications.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Corneal Stroma
/
Hydrogels
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Biomaterials
Year:
2025
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Country of publication: