A 3D parylene scaffold cage for culturing retinal pigment epithelial cells

This work reports a 3D parylene scaffold cage for culturing stem-cell-differentiated retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells for the therapy of age-related macular degeneration, which is caused by degenerated permeability of the Bruch's membrane first and then the loss of RPE cells. This reported cage can support sufficient nutrient permeation to nourish the RPE cells inside with in vivo like morphology. Compared to previous single layer scaffold substrates, this cage can effectively prevent the undesirable cell migration away from the scaffold.