Ludwig, A., J. Phillips, I. Lee, A. Xie, J. Lee, D. Sinha, K. Edwards, S. Gong, J. Ma, and D. Gamm. Ultrathin Micro-Molded Biodegradable Scaffolds for Outer Retina Reconstruction. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2020, p. Epub Full Text.
Abstract
Purpose
Cell-based therapies have the potential to treat blinding retinal disorders caused by photoreceptor (PR) and/or retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell death. Recent advances in biomaterials and tissue engineering have produced scaffold-based strategies for PR or RPE replacement, but organized approaches supporting both cell types—which many later-stage outer retinal disease patients will likely require—are lacking. We hypothesized that biodegradable scaffolds could meet this need. Herein, we describe an ultrathin biodegradable scaffold capable of supporting organized, high-density capture of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived PRs and/or RPE.