Surface entrapment of collagen on single layer polylactic acid film containing sustainable drug delivery properties for corneal tissue engineering application

Abstract

Tissue engineering is a promising tool in repairing and treating corneal disease by developing new functionalized biological constructs using tissue scaffold. In this study, the inert surface of the polylactic acid (PLA) film was modified by using surface adsorption of collagen at different concentrations. The films were characterized for their tensile, swelling, water contact angle, in-vitro degradation, and light transmittance. Based on the mechanical and physical evaluations, the film was suggested to be optimum at 5wt% of collagen entrapment on the neat PLA film. Topographic analysis of the modified PLA film revealed that the inclusion of collagen induced a rougher surface, which is suitable for drug loading, biomolecule entrapment, and cell attachment. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) confirmed the attachment of the collagen molecule at the PLA backbone by the presence of amino group's spectra. Additionally, drug release studies showed that the PLA/5%Col film has a controllable release profile and followed Fickian's diffusion kinetics release. In-vitro cytotoxicity studied using MTT assay revealed good biocompatibility of the human fibroblast cell (HSF1189), resulting in 93±0.13% cell viability after 48 hours of incubation. This new modified corneal film material could reduce the dependency on the corneal donor for corneal transplants in the future.