Enhanced Transepithelial Riboflavin Delivery Using Femtosecond Laser-Machined Epithelial Microchannels
| Autor: | James V. Jester, Yilu Xie, Donald J. Brown, Tibor Juhasz, Samantha Bradford, Eric Mikula |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Stromal cell
Materials science Riboflavin Corneal collagen cross-linking Biomedical Engineering Organ culture Eye Article Epithelium Cornea Benzalkonium chloride femtosecond laser Opthalmology and Optometry medicine Animals crosslinking Eye Disease and Disorders of Vision Corneal epithelium Photosensitizing Agents Lasers Epithelium Corneal Corneal Penetration (firestop) eye diseases Ophthalmology medicine.anatomical_structure nonlinear sense organs Rabbits medicine.drug Biomedical engineering |
| Zdroj: | Translational vision science & technology, vol 9, iss 6 Translational Vision Science & Technology |
| Popis: | Author(s): Bradford, Samantha; Mikula, Eric; Xie, Yilu; Juhasz, Tibor; Brown, Donald J; Jester, James V | Abstract: PurposeThis study describes a femtosecond laser (FS) approach to machine corneal epithelial microchannels for enhancing riboflavin (Rf) penetration into the cornea prior to corneal crosslinking (CXL).MethodsUsing a 1030-nm FS laser with 5- to 10-µJ pulse energy, the corneal epithelium of slaughterhouse rabbit eyes was machined to create 2-µm-diameter by 25-µm-long microchannels at a density of 100 or 400 channels/mm2. Rf penetration through the microchannels was then determined by applying 1% Rf in phosphate-buffered saline for 30 minutes followed by removal of the cornea and extraction from the central stromal button. Stromal Rf concentrations were then compared to those obtained using standard epithelial debridement or 0.01% benzalkonium chloride (BAK) to disrupt the epithelial barrier.ResultsMicrochannels formed using a 5-µJ/pulse at a density of 400 channels/mm2 achieved a stromal Rf concentration that was 50% of that achieved by removal of the corneal epithelium and imbibing with 1% Rf. Stromal Rf levels were also equal to that of debrided corneas soaked with 0.5% Rf, threefold higher than those soaked with 0.1% Rf, and twofold higher than corneas soaked in BAK without epithelial debridement. Organ culture of treated corneas showed a normal corneal epithelium following FS machining while BAK-treated corneas showed extensive epithelial and stromal damage at 24 hours posttreatment.ConclusionsFS corneal epithelial machining can be used to enhance penetration of Rf into the stroma for corneal CXL.Translational relevanceThe creation of epithelial microchannels allows for stromal Rf concentrations high enough to perform true transepithelial crosslinking. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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