3D Bioprinting Corneal Stromal Equivalents
05/18/20
Publication Title:
High-Throughput 3D Bioprinting of Corneal Stromal Equivalents
Advanced BioMatrix Products Used:
FibriCol® 10 mg/ml type I collagen
Type I Collagen Hydrogels eBrochure
How the products were used:
FibriCol® type I collagen was mixed with alginate and gelatin to make a unique bioink suitable for 3D bioprinting corneal stromal equivalents.
Article Abstract:
In this study we designed high-throughput 3D bioprinting of corneal equivalents which may address the need for in vitro models. To maintain the curvature of cornea, a support scaffold was designed using stereolithographic printer. The support scaffold could facilitate the printing of 6–12 corneas at a time thus enabling highthroughput printing.
Human corneal keratocytes (HCKs) were incorporated in the optimized bio-ink, and cell-laden corneal stromal equivalents were printed.
Printed structures were cross-linked by calcium chloride 100 mM, washed with Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution and incubated at 37C in fibroblast media. Printed corneas were able to maintain their structure, integrity, and clarity. Live dead assay and Alamar assay demonstrated that HCKs maintained high
viability (>95%) for 2 weeks. HCKs in the printed corneas showed expression for fibronectin and actin green.
In conclusion, high-throughput fabrication of 3D printed corneal stromal equivalents using a combination of stereolithography printing, extrusion based printing, and micro-transfer molding techniques was achieved.
