Artificial constructs for use in ophthalmology, methods for obtaining the same, and their use

Abstract

Procedure for obtaining an artificial corneal construct by 3D printing. The procedure comprises the following stages: i. providing a composition in the form of bioink comprising type I collagen or a mixture of type I, type V and/or type VI collagen at a concentration between 0.2 and 80 mg/ml, at a pH between 3.4 and 9 and where the composition optionally comprises proteoglycans of corneal origin selected from the group consisting of chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate and keratan sulfate or any combination thereof at a concentration between 1 and 10 g/ml; ii. printing between 2 and 25 successive layers of the composition comprising the bioink from the previous stage by means of 3D printing, wherein the 3D printing is characterized by presenting an accumulated height of between 400 and 6000 μm and a variation in height per layer of at least ten times the thickness per layer of the desired artificial corneal construct, wherein the variation in height per layer is understood as the distance at which one layer is produced over the previous layer; and producing each layer to obtain collagen fibrils having a direction with an angle of 70° to 110° with respect to the direction of the collagen fibrils of the previous layer, keeping the bioink at a temperature that does not gel; iii. induce collagen gelation by incubating the layered product obtained from stage ii at 30-40° C.; and iv, induce the hardening, compaction and/or controlled dehydration of the layered product obtained from stage iii by incubating the layered product at a temperature of 20-40° C. and a humidity of 10 to 90% until the succession of layers comprises a size between 40 and 600 μm, with a thickness per layer between 20 and 25 μm thick.

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