Corneal Tissue Engineering

Abstract

This chapter reviews the current position in the field of corneal tissue engineering. First, the construction and biophysical properties of the human cornea and the special conditions required for corneal tissue regeneration are illustrated. Then the strategies and approaches used for engineering corneal tissue are introduced, including the traditional way of engineering corneal equivalents by seeding cells in biodegradable scaffolds in vitro; the method of using active cell-free artificial corneas to induce corneal tissue regeneration in vivo; and the methods based on stem cells and cell sheet technology. © 2010 Woodhead Publishing Limited All rights reserved.