Electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds for the promotion of scarfree corneal wound healing

Abstract

Irregular healing following corneal injury accounts for approx. 1.5 million new cases of monocular blindness every year. Unlike cataracts, such cases of blindness are irreversible without corneal transplantation. Efforts to develop biomaterials that promote wound healing have been largely unsuccessful for corneal applications, where stringent optical requirements necessitate a transparent wound dressing to promote host-cell infiltration and foster scar-free tissue remodeling. We approach this problem with a novel proteinpolymer scaffold that contains nanofibrillar elements characteristic of the highly-ordered structure of a healthy corneal stroma. To evaluate the role of this fibrillar nanostructure, we examine cell responses to electrospun nanofiber mats both in-vitro and in-vivo. We show that the material is well-suited for corneal applications because of its transparency, ability to recruit epithelial and fibroblast cells and capability to regulate the fibroblast repair phenotype.