Potentiality of Bacterial Cellulose as the Scaffold of Tissue Engineering of Cornea

The bacterial cellulose (BC) secreted by Gluconacetobacter xylinus was explored as a novel scaffold material due to its unusual biocompatibility, light transmittance and material properties. The specific surface area of the frozen-dried BC sheet based on BET isotherm was 22.886 m²/g, and the porosity was around 90%. It is known by SEM graphs that significant difference in porosity and pore size exists in the two sides of air-dried BC sheets. The width of cellulose ribbons was 10 nm to 100 nm known by AFM image. The examination of the growth of human corneal stromal cells on BC demonstrated that the material supported the growth and proliferation of human corneal stromal cells. The ingrowth of corneal stromal cells into the scaffold was verified by laser scanning confocal microscope. The results suggest the potentiality for this biomaterial as a scaffold for tissue engineering of artificial cornea.