Ophthalmic Biomaterials

Either through collaboration or the pursuit of my own ideas, numerous ophthalmic biomaterials were created and tested. PNIPAAm based thermosensitive hydrogel materials were perhaps the most consistent thread in this thesis. Two PNIPAAm derivatives, one modified with collagen, the other with PEG, NAS, and DBA were used as case studies to highlight the development of a biocompatibility testing platform now in use in the Sheardown lab. Not just the materials themselves, but also degradation products and extratables were tested with cell types relevant to ocular tissue microenvironment. An assay to measure cell ejection driven by intramolecular hydrophobic in situ gelation was developed. An in vitro immunoassay using the THP-1 cell line was created to provide meaningful insight into the interaction between materials and monocytes. While this assay may not have been definitive, it may still serve as a simple check before materials transition into animal models. Extensive histology was performed using a variety of staining techniques to better understand the foreign body response to soft materials. Ultimately, PNNPD materials were injected into the vitreous to assess their feasibility as a drug releasing scaffold.

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Opthtalmic Biomaterials
Thesis Ben Moorhead
McMaster University, March 2017
https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/bitstream/11375/21977/3/Muirhead_Ben_B_201705_PhD_Biomedical%20Engineering.pdf
Muirhead_Ben_Ophthalmic Biomaterials.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Document 3.9 MB