About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T25: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Next Generation Biomaterials
|
| Presentation Title |
Dual Functionalizing Polymer Membranes for Cornea Replacement |
| Author(s) |
Olivia A. Lundquist, Christie Ortega, John Tolbert, Amelia Zellander, Lesley Chow |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Olivia A. Lundquist |
| Abstract Scope |
Cadaver corneal transplantation is the primary treatment for corneal blindness, yet less than 2% of global donor tissue demand is met. To address this, our lab developed a synthetic corneal replacement composed of poly(caprolactone) (PCL) and chitosan (CHI). Blending CHI and PCL and crosslinking with genipin enabled us to fabricate transparent membranes with tunable mechanical properties. The goal of this work was to demonstrate membrane functionalization to control cell adhesion while maintaining optical transparency. During fabrication, we incorporated PCL modified with either RGDS (RGDS-PCL) to enhance cell adhesion or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PCL) to prevent fouling and maintain transparency similar to donor cornea. This versatile approach allowed us to spatially present RGDS and PEG in the same membrane to control local cell-material interactions. The RGDS region enhanced cell adhesion while PEG functionalization prevented cell adhesion. These results demonstrated that we can fabricate spatially organized dual-functionalized membranes for cornea replacement. |