We are studying the microstructure of three dimensional biomimetic matrixes for their potential and/ or improvement as opthalmic biomataials. Surface textured biomaterials have been examined to improve cell adhesion and tissue integration, however their topographies are unlike in vivo cell adhesion substrates in both size range and structural complexity. In vivo, many cells are adherent to an ECM, which have a complex 3-D topography with extensive topography in the macromolecular size range as small as 10-50 nm. Multiple studies indicate that simple Euclidian-like topographies in the micron range can influence cell function and differentiation. We are examining the effect of biological matrix textures by fabricating biomaterials which precisely replicate the 3-D structure of ECMs well into the submicron range. This permits examining the effects of biological topography, separated as much as possible from biological chemistry, in the differentiation of adherent cells. The present studies are applied to corneal prosthetic applications, and hence examine this with respect to the ECM undalying anterior corneal epithelium.
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