IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Biomaterials Thursday Sessions
       Session BI-ThA

Paper BI-ThA10
New Substrates for Retinal Cell Transplantation

Thursday, November 1, 2001, 5:00 pm, Room 102

Session: Cell-Surface Interaction
Presenter: C.J. Lee, Stanford University
Authors: C.J. Lee, Stanford University
S.F. Bent, Stanford University
P. Huie, Stanford University
M. Blumenkranz, Stanford University
H. Fishman, Stanford University
Correspondent: Click to Email
A novel treatment for age related macular degeneration (AMD) is currently being investigated. This treatment involves the transplantation of human pigment epithelial cells (PE) on a carrier substrate to rescue the diseased retina. Various substrates including synthetic biodegradable polymers and biocompatible substances have been proposed as carrier substrates. Biocompatible materials offer the ability to coexist in the subretinal space, thus reducing immune rejection. The goal of this work was to grow cells on various biocompatible materials and to show the survival and longevity of the cells. Without specific constraints, the cells exhibit a variety of morphologies, including cuboidal and elliptical structures. In this study, surface modifications were employed to control the growth and morphologies of the cells. The cells have been successfully grown on these modified substrates, exhibiting stable function for at least two weeks in culture. In summary, we show that engineering biocompatible substrates is possible and that stable growth of cells occurs. The possibility of the feasibility of this treatment in animals will be discussed.