Electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds for the promotion of scar-free corneal wound healing

Abstract

Transparency of the healthy cornea comes from its highly ordered nanostructure, which is maintained by specialized fibroblast cells. During corneal injury, these cells differentiate into repair cells - myofibroblasts - which close the wound and remodel the tissue. However, myofibroblasts contain stress fibers that distort the cornea's refracting surface. Efforts to develop wound healing materials have been largely unsuccessful for corneal applications, where stringent optical requirements necessitate a transparent wound dressing to foster scar-free tissue remodeling. We approach this problem with a protein-polymer scaffold that contains electrospun nanofibers characteristic of the highly-ordered structure of the healthy cornea. We examine myofibrobalst responses to electrospun nanofiber mats in-vitro using a mock wound healing assay, ex-vivo using intact rabbit eyes and in-vivo using a mouse model. 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.