Fig. 1.

Cell alignment and viability within corneal stromal SLATEs. A) Representative phase-contrast micrographs of tissues bio-fabricated on anisotropic or isotropic templates (aligned- (A-) and randomly-oriented (R-) SLATEs, respectively) immediately after controlled self-release from adherent PA surfaces. Note that both tissue types were robust enough to be cut to shape and mounted between glass coverslips without loss in their structural integrity. B) Number of live cells within A- and R-SLATEs evaluated after self-release using the Alamar Blue assay. C) Representative fluorescence micrographs of calcein-AM-stained, live cells (green) and propidium iodide-stained, dead cells (red) within A- and R-SLATEs after self-release. D) Quantification of cell viability (average ± S.D.) performed by analyzing 10 individual micrographs per tissue type, using three independent samples (n = 3). Note that no significant differences in cell number and viability were found between the two tissue types. Scale bars, 100 μm. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)