Electrospun Reinforced Suturable Artificial Cornea and Uses Thereof
AssigneeThe Schepens Eye Research Institute, Inc.
InventorsSina Sharifi, Hannah Sharifi
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Abstract
An implant and method of fabricating an implant for corneal replacement is described. According to aspects of the present disclosure, solution electrospinning, hydrogel perfusion, layer-by-layer stacking, and photo-induced crosslinking are used to generate a hydrogel-nanofiber composite with varying fiber diameters and hydrogel concentrations. The integration of nanofibers into the hydrogel synergistically improves the mechanics and suturability of the construct up to 10-fold and 50-fold, respectively, compared to the hydrogel and nanofiber scaffolds alone, approaching those of the corneal tissue.
Claims35
A method of making a medical implant, the method comprising:
- (a) electrospinning a polymer solution to form a polymer fiber mat;
- (b) diffusing a solution including a crosslinkable hydrogel into the polymer fiber mat to form a hydrogel-infused mat;
- and
- (c) irradiating the hydrogel-infused mat to crosslink the hydrogel and form the medical implant.
A medical implant comprising:
- a polymer fiber stack comprising electrospun polymeric fibers;
- and
- a crosslinked hydrogel matrix,
- wherein the polymer fiber stack is embedded within the crosslinked hydrogel matrix.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.