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Wicklein, Vanessa ; Singer, Bernhard B. ; Scheibel, Thomas ; Salehi, Sahar:
Nanoengineered Biomaterials for corneal regeneration.
In: Mozafari, Masoud
(Hrsg.):
Nanoengineered Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine : Micro and Nano Technologies. -
Amsterdam
: Elsevier
,
2019
. - S. 379-415
ISBN 978-0-12-813356-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813355-2.00017-X
Abstract
The cornea is the outer, transparent structure at the front of the human eye. The cor-nea’s unique structure is based on its resident cells and the organization of the cornealextracellular matrix (ECM). The cornea supports the refraction and transmission ofincoming light (Fig. 1A)[1,2]. It also provides mechanical and chemical protectionof the inner eye tissue. In adults, the cornea’s average horizontal diameter is11.5–12.0 mm, which is about 1 mm larger than its vertical diameter. The thicknessis approximately 0.5 mm at the center and gradually increases toward the periphery.The cornea is flat in the periphery and is arched centrally, which creates an asphericoptical system with a specific biomechanical structure[3]. This tissue is avascular,but it relies on blood components coming from tear films and tiny vessels of the facialarteries[4].The cornea comprises five layers (Fig. 1B). From front to back, they are the cor-neal epithelium, the Bowman’s layer, the corneal stroma, the Descemet’s membrane,and the corneal endothelium[5]. Resident cells of these layers include the cornealepithelium, the keratocytes in the stroma, and the corneal endothelial cells(CECs).[6,7]The epithelial layer at the ocular surface of the cornea is a first barrier to the out-side environment and is in contact with the tear film. Such an interface is opticallyimportant for the refraction of the eye. Eventually, two thirds of the total refractivepower will be provided by the interface of the air-tear film and the underlying cornea