Cultivation of Limbal Epithelial Cells on Electrospun Poly (lactide-co-glycolide) Scaffolds for Delivery to the Cornea

  • Pallavi Deshpande
  • Charanya Ramachandran
  • Virender S. Sangwan
  • Sheila MacNeil
Protocol
First Online:
Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB, volume 1014)

Abstract

In delivering tissues to the body, both natural and synthetic materials have been used. Currently, a natural membrane, the human amniotic membrane (AM), is used to deliver limbal epithelial cells (LEC) to the cornea. AM presents inherent problems with structural variation and requires extensive serological screening before use. Therefore alternatives are required to improve the predictability in clinical outcomes and economic costs associated with the use of this biological substrate. In this chapter, we describe the development of an alternative, structurally simple, synthetic biodegradable electrospun scaffold based on poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA: materials used in dissolvable sutures) to replace AM.

Key words

Electrospinning Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) Limbal epithelial cell cultivation 
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Notes

Acknowledgment

This work has been funded by the Wellcome Trust Affordable Healthcare in India Award.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  • Pallavi Deshpande
    • 1
  • Charanya Ramachandran
    • 2
  • Virender S. Sangwan
    • 2
  • Sheila MacNeil
    • 1
  1. 1.The Kroto Research InstituteUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
  2. 2.Sudhakar and Sreekanth Ravi stem cell laboratoryL V Prasad Eye InstituteHyderabadIndia

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