scholarly journals Covalent Functionalization of PMMA Surface with L‐3,4‐Dihydroxyphenylalanine (L‐DOPA) to Enhance its Biocompatibility and Adhesion to Corneal Tissue

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1900767
Author(s):  
Roholah Sharifi ◽  
Soudabe Mahmoudzadeh ◽  
Mohammad Mirazul Islam ◽  
Darrell Koza ◽  
Claes H. Dohlman ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J Snider ◽  
Lauren E Cornell ◽  
Brandon M Gross ◽  
David O Zamora ◽  
Emily N Boice

ABSTRACT Introduction Open-globe ocular injuries have increased in frequency in recent combat operations due to increased use of explosive weaponry. Unfortunately, open-globe injuries have one of the worst visual outcomes for the injured warfighter, often resulting in permanent loss of vision. To improve visual recovery, injuries need to be stabilized quickly following trauma, in order to restore intraocular pressure and create a watertight seal. Here, we assess four off-the-shelf (OTS), commercially available tissue adhesives for their ability to seal military-relevant corneal perforation injuries (CPIs). Materials and Methods Adhesives were assessed using an anterior segment inflation platform and a previously developed high-speed benchtop corneal puncture model, to create injuries in porcine eyes. After injury, adhesives were applied and injury stabilization was assessed by measuring outflow rate, ocular compliance, and burst pressure, followed by histological analysis. Results Tegaderm dressings and Dermabond skin adhesive most successfully sealed injuries in preliminary testing. Across a range of injury sizes and shapes, Tegaderm performed well in smaller injury sizes, less than 2 mm in diameter, but inadequately sealed large or complex injuries. Dermabond created a watertight seal capable of maintaining ocular tissue at physiological intraocular pressure for almost all injury shapes and sizes. However, application of the adhesive was inconsistent. Histologically, after removal of the Dermabond skin adhesive, the corneal epithelium was removed and oftentimes the epithelium surface penetrated into the wound and was adhered to inner stromal tissue. Conclusions Dermabond can stabilize a wide range of CPIs; however, application is variable, which may adversely impact the corneal tissue. Without addressing these limitations, no OTS adhesive tested herein can be directly translated to CPIs. This highlights the need for development of a biomaterial product to stabilize these injuries without causing ocular damage upon removal, thus improving the poor vision prognosis for the injured warfighter.


2021 ◽  
pp. 102402
Author(s):  
Amin Orash Mahmoud Salehi ◽  
Saeed Heidari Keshel ◽  
Farshid Sefat ◽  
Lobat Tayebi

Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 529
Author(s):  
Bangfu Wang ◽  
Juan Song

Based on the contact angle prediction model of a traditional square column structure, the prediction models for wettability of a parallelogram square column structure (PSCS) on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) surface prepared by femtosecond laser were established. An experiment was conducted to analyze the rationality of the established complete wetting model and incomplete wetting model. It was found that the incomplete wetting prediction model of the square column structure was more in line with the actual situation. For PSCS, the length of both the long and short sides of the boss and the width of the groove exerted an impact on the contact angle prediction results. Under the condition that the length of the long and short sides of the boss remained unchanged and the groove width increased, the contact angle increased under complete wetting and incomplete wetting. In contrast, under the condition that the long side length of the boss and the groove width remained unchanged and the short side length of the boss increased, the contact angle increased under complete wetting but decreased under incomplete wetting. The maximum contact angle reached 135.65°, indicating that PSCS on PMMA surface enhanced the surface hydrophobicity of the material.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 832
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mirazul Islam ◽  
Dina B. AbuSamra ◽  
Alexandru Chivu ◽  
Pablo Argüeso ◽  
Claes H. Dohlman ◽  
...  

Collagen scaffolds, one of the most used biomaterials in corneal tissue engineering, are frequently crosslinked to improve mechanical properties, enzyme tolerance, and thermal stability. Crosslinkers such as 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) are compatible with tissues but provide low crosslinking density and reduced mechanical properties. Conversely, crosslinkers such as glutaraldehyde (GTA) can generate mechanically more robust scaffolds; however, they can also induce greater toxicity. Herein, we evaluated the effectivity of double-crosslinking with both EDC and GTA together with the capability of sodium metabisulfite (SM) and sodium borohydride (SB) to neutralize the toxicity and restore biocompatibility after crosslinking. The EDC-crosslinked collagen scaffolds were treated with different concentrations of GTA. To neutralize the free unreacted aldehyde groups, scaffolds were treated with SM or SB. The chemistry involved in these reactions together with the mechanical and functional properties of the collagen scaffolds was evaluated. The viability of the cells grown on the scaffolds was studied using different corneal cell types. The effect of each type of scaffold treatment on human monocyte differentiation was evaluated. One-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. The addition of GTA as a double-crosslinking agent significantly improved the mechanical properties and enzymatic stability of the EDC crosslinked collagen scaffold. GTA decreased cell biocompatibility but this effect was reversed by treatment with SB or SM. These agents did not affect the mechanical properties, enzymatic stability, or transparency of the double-crosslinked scaffold. Contact of monocytes with the different scaffolds did not trigger their differentiation into activated macrophages. Our results demonstrate that GTA improves the mechanical properties of EDC crosslinked scaffolds in a dose-dependent manner, and that subsequent treatment with SB or SM partially restores biocompatibility. This novel manufacturing approach would facilitate the translation of collagen-based artificial corneas to the clinical setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
Martin Kallab ◽  
Kornelia Schuetzenberger ◽  
Nikolaus Hommer ◽  
Bhavapriya Jasmin Schäfer ◽  
Doreen Schmidl ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ocular pharmacokinetics, bio-distribution and local tolerability of γ-cyclodextrin (γCD) based irbesartan 1.5% eye drops and candesartan 0.15% eye drops after single and multiple topical administration in rabbit eyes. In this randomized, controlled study, a total number of 59 New Zealand White albino rabbits were consecutively assigned to two study groups. Group 1 (n = 31) received irbesartan 1.5% and group 2 (n = 28) candesartan 0.15% eye drops. In both groups, single dose and multiple administration pharmacokinetic studies were performed. Rabbits were euthanized at five predefined time points after single-dose administration, whereas multiple-dose animals were dosed for 5 days twice-daily and then euthanized 1 h after the last dose administration. Drug concentration was measured by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in the retinal tissue, vitreous humor, aqueous humor, corneal tissue and in venous blood samples. Pharmacokinetic parameters including maximal drug concentration (Cmax), time of maximal drug concentration (Tmax), half-life and AUC were calculated. To assess local tolerability, six additional rabbits received 1.5% irbesartan eye drops twice daily in one eye for 28 days. Tolerability was assessed using a modified Draize test and corneal sensibility by Cochet Bonnet esthesiometry. Both γCD based eye drops were rapidly absorbed and distributed in the anterior and posterior ocular tissues. Within 0.5 h after single administration, the Cmax of irbesartan and candesartan in retinal tissue was 251 ± 142 ng/g and 63 ± 39 ng/g, respectively. In the vitreous humor, a Cmax of 14 ± 16 ng/g for irbesartan was reached 0.5 h after instillation while Cmax was below 2 ng/g for candesartan. For multiple dosing, the observed Cmean in retinal tissue was 338 ± 124 ng/g for irbesartan and 36 ± 10 ng/g for candesartan, whereas mean vitreous humor concentrations were 13 ± 5 ng/g and <2 ng/g, respectively. The highest plasma concentrations of both irbesartan (Cmax 5.64 ± 4.08 ng/mL) and candesartan (Cmax 4.32 ± 1.04 ng/mL) were reached 0.5 h (Tmax) after single administration. Local tolerability was favorable with no remarkable differences between the treated and the control eyes. These results indicate that irbesartan and candesartan in γCD based nanoparticle eye drops can be delivered to the retinal tissue of the rabbit’s eye in pharmacologically relevant concentrations. Moreover, safety and tolerability profiles appear to be favorable in the rabbit animal model.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Eduardo Ravelo-Nieto ◽  
Alvaro Duarte-Ruiz ◽  
Luis H. Reyes ◽  
Juan C. Cruz

Several biological barriers are generally responsible for the limited delivery of cargoes at the cellular level. Fullerenols have unique structural features and possess suitable properties for interaction with the cells. This study aimed to synthesize and characterize a fullerenol derivative with desirable characteristics (size, charge, functionality) to develop cell penetration vehicles. Fullerenol was synthesized from fullerene (C60) solubilized in toluene, followed by hydroxylation with hydrogen peroxide and tetra-n-butylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) as a phase transfer catalyst. The obtained product was purified by a Florisil chromatography column (water as the eluent), followed by dialysis (cellulose membrane dialysis tubing) and freeze-drying (yield 66%). Subsequently, a silane coupling agent was conjugated on the fullerenol surface to render free amine functional groups for further covalent functionalization with other molecules. Characterization via UV–VIS, FTIR-ATR, Raman, DLS, and SEM techniques was conducted to evaluate the composition, size, morphology, surface functionality, and structural properties. We are currently working on the conjugation of the potent cell-penetrating agents Buforin II (BUFII) and the Outer Membrane Protein A (OmpA) on the surface of the fullerenol to estimate whether cell penetration and endosome escape are improved concerning conventional polymeric vehicles and our previous developments with iron oxide nanoparticles.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 405
Author(s):  
Anna Matysiak ◽  
Michal Kabza ◽  
Justyna A. Karolak ◽  
Marcelina M. Jaworska ◽  
Malgorzata Rydzanicz ◽  
...  

The ocular microbiome composition has only been partially characterized. Here, we used RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) data to assess microbial diversity in human corneal tissue. Additionally, conjunctival swab samples were examined to characterize ocular surface microbiota. Short RNA-Seq reads, obtained from a previous transcriptome study of 50 corneal tissues, were mapped to the human reference genome GRCh38 to remove sequences of human origin. The unmapped reads were then used for taxonomic classification by comparing them with known bacterial, archaeal, and viral sequences from public databases. The components of microbial communities were identified and characterized using both conventional microbiology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques in 36 conjunctival swabs. The majority of ocular samples examined by conventional and molecular techniques showed very similar microbial taxonomic profiles, with most of the microorganisms being classified into Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria phyla. Only 50% of conjunctival samples exhibited bacterial growth. The PCR detection provided a broader overview of positive results for conjunctival materials. The RNA-Seq assessment revealed significant variability of the corneal microbial communities, including fastidious bacteria and viruses. The use of the combined techniques allowed for a comprehensive characterization of the eye microbiome’s elements, especially in aspects of microbiota diversity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document