Characterization of Tunable Poly-ε-Lysine-Based Hydrogels for Corneal Tissue Engineering

A family of poly-ε-lysine hydrogels can be synthesized by crosslinking with bis-carboxylic acids using carbodiimide chemistry. In addition to creating hydrogels using a simple cast method, a fragmented method is used to introduce increased porosity within the hydrogel structure. Both methods have created tunable characteristics ranging in their mechanical properties, transparency, and water content, which is of interest to corneal tissue engineering and can be tailored to specific cellular needs and applications. With a worldwide shortage of cornea donor tissue available for transplant and limitations including rejection and potential infection, a synthetic material that can be used as a graft, or a partial thickness corneal replacement, would be an advantageous treatment method. These hydrogels can be tuned to have similar mechanical and transparency properties to the human cornea. They also support the attachment and growth of corneal epithelial cells and the integration of corneal stromal cells.

Which feature influences on-eye power change of soft toric contact lenses: Design or corneal shape?

PURPOSE

This study investigates how both the peripheral zone design and corneal shape affect the behaviour of soft contact lenses on-eye.

METHODS

In this study, soft contact lenses of varying nominal cylindrical powers and peripheral zone designs-a single-prism gravity-based stabilised lens (G1P), two-prism blink-based stabilised lens (B2P) and four-prism blink-based stabilised lens (B4P)-were generated as finite element models. The on-eye simulation results were analysed to identify the impact of each peripheral zone design (Each with different volume ratios) on the effective power change (EPC) when worn by a subject. Topographies of three eyes of varying average simulated anterior corneal curvature (flat, average & steep) were used in this study.

RESULTS

The volume of the lens's peripheral zone as a ratio of the total lens volume (Vp) recorded very weak correlations with the effective power change (EPC) among the three investigated designs when they were fitted to the flat eye (R = -0.19, -0.15 & -0.22 respectively), moderate correlations with the average eye (R = 0.42, 0.43 & 0.43 respectively) and strong correlations with the steep eye (R = 0.91, 0.9 & 0.9 respectively). No significant differences were noticed among the three investigated designs and none of the cylindrical lenses designed with axis 90° recorded EPC values outside the acceptance criteria range (ACR) of ±0.25 D. No significant differences in EPC were recorded among the three designs G1P, B2P and B4P (p>0.6) when they were designed with three axes at 90°, 45° and 0°. Moving the toric lens axis away from 90° dragged the EPC to the negative side and most of the investigated lenses with axes at 45° and 0° recorded EPCs outside the ±0.25D range.

CONCLUSIONS

In all cases, the shape of the cornea had a more dominant effect on EPC when compared to the peripheral zone design. Corneal shape influences the soft toric contact lens's on-eye power change more than the lens design.

Fluid-Structure Interaction Based Algorithms for IOP and Corneal Material Behavior

Purpose: This paper presents and clinically validates two algorithms for estimating intraocular pressure (IOP) and corneal material behavior using numerical models that consider the fluid-structure interaction between the cornea and the air-puff used in non-contact tonometry. Methods: A novel multi-physics fluid-structure interaction model of the air-puff test was employed in a parametric numerical study simulating human eyes under air-puff pressure with a wide range of central corneal thickness (CCT = 445-645 μm), curvature (R = 7.4-8.4 mm), material stiffness and IOP (10-25 mmHg). Models were internally loaded with IOP using a fluid cavity, then externally with air-puff loading simulated using a turbulent computational fluid dynamics model. Corneal dynamic response parameters were extracted and used in development of two algorithms for IOP and corneal material behavior; fIOP and fSSI, respectively. The two algorithms were validated against clinical corneal dynamic response parameters for 476 healthy participants. The predictions of IOP and corneal material behavior were tested on how they varied with CCT, R, and age. Results: The present study produced a biomechanically corrected estimation of intraocular pressure (fIOP) and a corneal material stiffness parameter or Stress-Strain Index (fSSI), both of which showed no significant correlation with R (p > 0.05) and CCT (p > 0.05). Further, fIOP had no significant correlation with age (p > 0.05), while fSSI was significantly correlated with age (p = 0.001), which was found earlier to be strongly correlated with material stiffness. Conclusion: The present study introduced two novel algorithms for estimating IOP and biomechanical material behavior of healthy corneas in-vivo. Consideration of the fluid structure interaction between the cornea and the air puff of non-contact tonometry in developing these algorithms led to improvements in performance compared with bIOP and SSI.

Controlling the properties of the micellar and gel phase by varying the counterion in functionalised-dipeptide systems

The micellar aggregates formed at high pH for dipeptide-based gelators can be varied by using different alkali metal salts to prepare the solutions.

Simulation of Air Puff Tonometry Test Using Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) Deforming Mesh for Corneal Material Characterisation

: Purpose: To improve numerical simulation of the non-contact tonometry test by using arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian deforming mesh in the coupling between computational fluid dynamics model of an air jet and finite element model of the human eye.

METHODS

Computational fluid dynamics model simulated impingement of the air puff and employed Spallart-Allmaras model to capture turbulence of the air jet. The time span of the jet was 30 ms and maximum Reynolds number was Re=2.3×104, with jet orifice diameter 2.4 mm and impinging distance 11 mm. The model of the human eye was analysed using finite element method with regional hyperelastic material variation and corneal patient-specific topography starting from stress-free configuration. The cornea was free to deform as a response to the air puff using an adaptive deforming mesh at every time step of the solution. Aqueous and vitreous humours were simulated as a fluid cavity filled with incompressible fluid with a density of 1000 kg/m3.

RESULTS

Using the adaptive deforming mesh in numerical simulation of the air puff test improved the traditional understanding of how pressure distribution on cornea changes with time of the test. There was a mean decrease in maximum pressure (at corneal apex) of 6.29 ± 2.2% and a development of negative pressure on a peripheral corneal region 2-4 mm away from cornea centre.

CONCLUSIONS

The study presented an improvement of numerical simulation of the air puff test, which will lead to more accurate intraocular pressure (IOP) and corneal material behaviour estimation. The parametric study showed that pressure of the air puff is different from one model to another, value-wise and distribution-wise, based on cornea biomechanical parameters.

Ex-vivo experimental validation of biomechanically-corrected intraocular pressure measurements on human eyes using the CorVis ST

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the Corvis ST (Oculus; Wetzlar, Germany) biomechanical correction algorithm (bIOP) in determining intraocular pressure (IOP) using experiments on ex-vivo human eyes. Five ex-vivo human ocular globes (age 69 ± 3 years) were obtained and tested within 3-5 days post mortem. Using a custom-built inflation rig, the internal pressure of the eyes was controlled mechanically and measured using the CorVis ST (CVS-IOP). The CVS-IOP measurements were then corrected to produce bIOP, which was developed for being less affected by variations in corneal biomechanical parameters, including tissue thickness and material properties. True IOP (IOPt) was defined as the pressure inside of the globe as monitored using a fixed pressure transducer. Statistical analyses were performed to assess the accuracy of both CVS-IOP and bIOP, and their correlation with corneal thickness. While no significant differences were found between bIOP and IOP_t (0.3 ± 1.6 mmHg, P = 0.989) using ANOVA and Bonferroni Post-Hoc test, the differences between CVS-IOP and IOPt were significant (7.5 ± 3.2 mmHg, P < 0.001). Similarly, bIOP exhibited no significant correlation with central corneal thickness (p = 0.756), whereas CVS-IOP was significantly correlated with the thickness (p < 0.001). The bIOP correction has been successful in providing close estimates of true IOP in ex-vivo tests conducted on human donor eye globes, and in reducing association with the cornea's thickness.