Polymers in Medicine

Polim. Med.
Scopus CiteScore: 3.5 (CiteScore Tracker 3.6)
Index Copernicus (ICV 2023) – 121.14
MEiN – 70
ISSN 0370-0747 (print)
ISSN 2451-2699 (online) 
Periodicity – biannual

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Polymers in Medicine

2020, vol. 50, nr 2, July-December, p. 57–64

doi: 10.17219/pim/127653

Publication type: review article

Language: English

License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)

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Biopolymer-based scaffolds for corneal stromal regeneration: A review

Hamed Nosrati1,A,B,C,D,E,F, Korosh Ashrafi-Dehkordi2,D,E,F, Zohreh Alizadeh3,4,E,F, Samira Sanami5,B,D,F, Mehdi Banitalebi-Dehkordi2,D,E,F

1 Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran

2 Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Advanced Technologies, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran

3 Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

4 Endometrium and Endometriosis Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

5 Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran

Abstract

The stroma is one of the 5 layers of the cornea that comprises more than 90% of the corneal thickness, and is the most important layer for the transparency of cornea and refractive function critical for vision. Any significant damage to this layer may lead to corneal blindness. Corneal blindness refers to loss of vision or blindness caused by corneal diseases or damage, which is the 4th most common cause of blindness worldwide. Different approaches are used to treat these patients. Severe corneal damage is traditionally treated by transplantation of a donor cornea or implantation of an artificial cornea. Other alternative approaches, such as cell/stem cell therapy, drug/gene delivery and tissue engineering, are currently promising in the regeneration of damaged cornea. The aim of tissue engineering is to functionally repair and regenerate damaged cornea using scaffolds with or without cells and growth factors. Among the different types of scaffolds, polymer-based scaffolds have shown great potential for corneal stromal regeneration. In this paper, the most recent findings of corneal stromal tissue engineering are reviewed.

Key words

biopolymer, tissue engineering, scaffold, corneal stroma

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