A cornea 3D printed at India’sL V Prasad Eye Institute（lvpei），印度技术学院（IIT）海得拉巴and细胞和分子生物学中心has been successfully animal tested for the first time.
Made from a bio-ink derived from human donor tissues, the artificial material and animal residue-free cornea was transplanted into the eye of a rabbit. Due to its “completely natural” base, the implant’s developers say it could soon be “used in human beings,” to treat corneal scarring as well as other serious eye conditions that can cause blindness.
LVPEI的首席研究人员Sayan Basu博士和Vivken Singh博士说：“这是光学且物理上适合移植的第一个3D印刷的人角膜。”“用于使这种3D印刷的角膜的生物墨水可以为陆军人员避免受伤的现场，以密封角膜穿孔并防止在战争相关的伤害期间或在没有第三纪念的偏远地区感染。”
为什么要打扰生物打印角膜？
While the cornea, the transparent part of the eye that covers the iris and pupil, is generally resilient and capable of healing from minor abrasions, anything from not using contact lenses properly to contact injuries can cause it to scar. Even those living healthy lifestyles that take great care of their eyes, can fall victim to issues like corneal dystrophies, which cause clouded vision, and often run in families.
根据美国的National Eye Institute，用于治疗角膜状况的主要疗法仍然是激光治疗，或者是有机组织或人造组织的移植。但是，尽管假肢无法恢复患者的视力，但基于细胞的移植往往是从动物中采购的，可以使它们成为拒绝风险，并最大程度地减少其在宗教团体中的应用。
“Although corneal substitutes are being actively researched throughout the world, they are either animal-based or synthetic,” explain the researchers. “Pig or animal-based products are unsuitable for India and major parts of the developing world because of issues related to social and religious responsibility.”
India’s animal testing breakthrough
为了解决围绕某些动物细胞在眼植入物中使用某些动物细胞的文化和宗教问题，研究人员改为基于人类供体组织。具体而言，使用从人眼提取的脱细胞角膜组织基质和干细胞，该团队已经开发了生物特征凝胶。
完全免费的合成组件,板牙ial is designed to provide the ideal microenvironment for stromal regeneration. In fact, Dr Falguni Pati, an Associate Professor at IIT-Hyderabad, says the bio-ink is even capable of doing so while maintaining the curvature and thickness of the bioprinted cornea,” thus facilitating its implantation.
科学家使用其独特的材料创造了所说的是印度第一个同类植入物，然后将其移植到动物测试主题的眼中。据说手术已经过得不错，LVPEI的Sayan Basu博士和Vivken Singh博士说，生物植物很快可能对治疗眼球疤痕或角膜角膜凸起的角膜疤痕或状况有用，从而导致了大量视力问题。
As with the rest of the implant’s R&D, the translational studies designed to prepare it for clinical trials are being funded by philanthropists. Moving forwards, with the backing of theSree Padmavathi Venkateswara Foundation这是一个旨在支持有前途的印度医学研究的小组，希望该技术将有助于使该国更容易获得负担得起的道德角膜移植物。
Seeking to restore sight with 3D printing
在海得拉巴进行的移植是一种向3D打印角膜方法的方法迈出的重要一步，这是一段时间以来一直是深入研究的主题。在研发中至少七年，精确生物的3D印刷角膜gained fresh backing fromCarl Zeiss Mediteclast month, which could help ramp up the process of bringing them to market.
Going further back, Bangalore-basedPandorum Technologies 3D bioprinted corneatissue in 2019, that was designed to enable the scarless healing of wounds in the eye. At the time, the firm’s disc-shaped implant was viewed as a potential way of treating those suffering vision loss due to corneal disorders, without having to rely on human donors.
在更实际的应用中，以色列的外科医生Shaare Zedek医疗中心(SZMC) successfully carried out the世界上最薄的人造角膜移植earlier this year. Developed byEyeYon，使用50 micr-thick植入物来恢复当地患者的视力，从而大大减少了他不得不等待该手术的时间。
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Featured image shows a close-up of the human eye. Photo via Vanessa Bumbeers, Unsplash.
