Establishment of a bi-layered tissue engineered conjunctiva using a 3D-printed melt electrowritten poly-(ε-caprolactone) scaffold.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To utilize melt electrowriting (MEW) technology using poly-(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) coupled with a 2-step co-culturing strategy for the development of a conjunctival bi-layer synthetic construct.

Methods

Melt electrowritten scaffolds using PCL were fabricated using an in-house-built MEW printer. Human conjunctival stromal cells (CjSCs) and epithelial cells (CjECs) were isolated from donor tissue. A 2-step co-culture method was done by first seeding the CjSCs and culturing for 4 weeks to establish a stromal layer, followed by CjECs and co-culturing for 2 more weeks. Cultured cells were each characterized by morphology and marker expression on immunofluorescence and qPCR. The produced construct was assessed for cellular proliferation using viability assays. The bi-layer

SUBMITTER: Xie J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9902434 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature