Construction of Tissue-engineered Corneal Stroma Scaffold by Fish Skin Collagen and its Characterization

• 1、Laboratory for Corneal Tissue Engineering, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003

Abstract：Purpose: Collagen from skin of Anguilla japonica is used to construct tissue-engineered corneal scaffold by cross-linking. Physical and chemical property and biocompatibility of the collagen scaffold were measured and analyzed. Methods: The fish collagen purified from the skin of Anguilla japonica was used to construct collagen scaffold with N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride crystalline (EDC)/N-Hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) as cross-linking agents after collagen freezing-drying. Physical and chemical property of collagen scaffolds were identified, including transparency and histological structure by HE staining of frozen sections and scanning electron microscope. Besides, human corneal stroma (HCS) cells were cultured for the research of collagen scaffold biocompatibility. Results: Collagen scaffold presented good transparency, uniform reticular organizational structure. The extracted solution from collagen scaffolds was not toxic to HCS cells, but was suitable for their growth and reproduction. After inoculation, the HCS cells immigrated into the scaffold and distributed regularly, indicating collagen scaffold had good biocompatibility to HCS cells. Conclusion: The tissue-engineered corneal scaffold had good physical and chemical property and biocompatibility, could promisingly be applied in vitro in the construction of tissue-engineered cornea.

Keywords： tissue-engineered cornea collagen scaffold fish collagen biocompatibility