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. 1999 Nov;83(11):1235–1240. doi: 10.1136/bjo.83.11.1235

Closer to nature: new biomaterials and tissue engineering in ophthalmology

B ALLAN 1
PMCID: PMC1722846  PMID: 10535847

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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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A simple two dimensional lattice illustrating surface reactivity. Molecules within the lattice are at a lower energy state (darker shade) than molecules at the surface which have more unoccupied bonding sites (arrows). Interfacial free energy is a measure of the number and reactivity of unoccupied bonding sites at the interface between a material surface and its surroundings. Polymers such as poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE, Teflon) have a have a relatively unreactive surface and are less prone to biological spoilation in aqueous systems than hydrophobic materials (for example, silicone, PMMA) with a higher interfacial free energy.

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

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3T3 fibroblasts cultured for 24 hours with bromodeoxyuridine (BRDU) to label new DNA shows cell adhesion and division is greatly reduced for phosphoryl choline copolymer coated (left) versus uncoated (right) poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA). (Courtesy of Dr Andrew Lloyd, University of Brighton.)

Figure 3  .

Figure 3  

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Hydrogels reduce their interfacial free energy in aqueous systems by trapping a shell of water molecules (open circles) which tend to shield their reactive domains (arrows). Bioinert polymers and natural cell surfaces may resist non-specific adsorption through this micromolecular exclusion zone.

Figure 4  .

Figure 4  

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Adsorption of soluble adhesion molecules (thick lines) to a hydroxyapatite surface may induce a conformational change resulting in the exposure of previously sequestered integrin binding domains (jagged lines), promoting cell adhesion. The effect of incorporating integrin-ligand-peptide sequences on cell behaviour in synthetic matrices and artificial surfaces is currently being explored.

Figure 5  .

Figure 5  

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A scanning electron micrograph showing a human osteoblast reaching pseudopodia out to hydroxyapatite particles (lighter areas) dispersed within a bioactive ceramic-polymer composite (HAPEX) (scale bar = 10 µm). (Courtesy of Dr Lucy Di Silvio, The IRC in Biomedical Materials, University of London.)

Figure 6  .

Figure 6  

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A tissue engineered artificial cornea.55 Sheets of keratocytes cultured for 35 days produce a thick collagenous matrix. Two of these matrix/cell sheets are then peeled away from the culture dish, and superimposed to form a corneal stromal equivalent. In appropriate conditions, a multilayered corneal epithelium can be cultured on this stromal equivalent. These epithelial cells lay down a basement membrane containing type IV collagen, lamenin, and fibronectin. (Courtesy of Dr Patrick Carrier, LOEX Laboratory, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.)

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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